Finding North (1998)

Screwball romance involving a woman (Makkena) who gets fired from her job as a bank teller when her friends arrange for a stripper to appear at the bank for her birthday. She then meets a ... See full summary »

Director:

Tanya Wexler

Writer:

Kim Powers

Stars:

Wendy Makkena, John Benjamin Hickey, Jonathan Walker

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Wendy Makkena	...	Rhonda Portelli
John Benjamin Hickey	...	Travis Furlong
Jonathan Walker	...	Voice of Bobby (voice)
Anne Bobby	...	Debi
Rebecca Creskoff	...	Gina
Angela Pietropinto	...	Mrs. Portelli
Freddie Roman	...	Mr. Portelli
Molly McClure	...	Aunt Bonnie
Jay Michaelson	...	Bud
Yusef Bulos	...	Taxi Driver
Garrett Moran	...	Stripper
Steven Jones	...	Funeral Director
Lynn Metrik	...	Bank Manager
Phyllis Cicero	...	Janice
Spiro Malas	...	Waiter

Storyline

Screwball romance involving a woman (Makkena) who gets fired from her job as a bank teller when her friends arrange for a stripper to appear at the bank for her birthday. She then meets a man (Hickey) whom she had earlier seen jump off a bridge and had assumed had committed suicide. With nothing else to do, she follows him to Texas. Along the way she slowly comes to realize he is gay and is despondent over the AIDS-related death of his former lover.

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Plot Keywords:

bank | gay | texas | death | bank teller | 

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Taglines:

Go ahead, make a wish...

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 June 1999 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Denton, Texas, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$5,952 (USA) (4 June 1999)

Gross:

$26,909 (USA) (12 November 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Redeemable Features, Soho Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

References Psycho (1960)

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Soundtracks

"Beautiful Dreamer"
Written by Stephen Foster
Arranged by M. Christian
Performed by Benny Martin

User Reviews

A Dreadful Mess

In the course of 90+ minutes, "Finding North" manages to never develop or execute more than 1-2 believable scenes. While you can sympathize with Travis' grief and Rhonda's frustration, the script is so poorly written and full of nonsensical situations (a male stripper performing in the middle of a bank branch lobby???) that it's impossible to take any part of the film seriously.

Wendy Makkena is way too broad as Rhonda (her Brooklynese belongs in a freshman college acting class), while the talented stage actor John Benjamin Hickey (of "Love, Valour, Compassion!") tries his best to wring something worthwhile out of the increasingly tiresome Travis. Only Molly McClure as Aunt Bonnie (Travis' dead partner's guardian as a child) strikes a note of authenticity in her performance. Her brief appearance has more impact than the rest of the film combined.