The Sleepy Time Gal (2001)

A young woman, played by Martha Plimpton learns of her adoption and eventually quits her law firm job in NYC and goes on a journey to find her birth mother - played by Jaqueline Bissett.

Director:

Christopher Munch

Writers:

Alice Elliott Dark (excerpts from Betty's book), Christopher Munch

Stars:

Jacqueline Bisset, Martha Plimpton, Nick Stahl

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jacqueline Bisset	...	Frances
Martha Plimpton	...	Rebecca
Nick Stahl	...	Morgan
Amy Madigan	...	Maggie
Frankie Faison	...	Jimmy Dupree (as Frankie R. Faison)
Carmen Zapata	...	Anna
Peggy Gormley	...	Betty
Seymour Cassel	...	Bob
Molly Price	...	Rebecca's Colleague
Kate McGregor-Stewart	...	Miriam
Clara Bellar	...	Mushroom Girl
Justin Theroux	...	Rebecca's Boyfriend
Mark Tymchyshyn	...	Larry Mosher
Anibal O. Lleras	...	Mr. Vega
Phyllis Somerville	...	Rebecca's Adoptive Mother

Storyline

Frances had been a radio DJ in Florida; she's now living in San Francisco and dying of cancer, with one son living nearby whose work as a photographer is beginning to take off and another, mostly estranged, living in London. She makes a trip to rural Pennsylvania to visit an old lover (and his wife). Meanwhile, Rebecca is searching for her birth mother, who is, of course, Frances. Their lives intersect in other unexpected ways as her search and her work, inspecting the books of radio stations being acquired, progress.

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Plot Keywords:

radio station | cancer | radio dj | photographer | tenderness | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brief nudity and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 January 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Backwards Looks, Far Corners

Filming Locations:

Daytona Beach, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Antarctic Pictures, Antarctica Productions, C-Hundred Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min 94 min (alternate)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Sleepy Time"
(closing theme)
Written by Dan Barrett
Performed by Rebecca Kilgore

User Reviews

Random

This movie is made up of random scenes with random characters. Very little linkage is made between the scenes or characters. So a lot of what is presented is absurd, meaningless or boring. I guess if one saw it over and over, and if one had an overactive imagination, one could create for oneself a story line. Of course, that would be your story line, not the writer's or director's, because they didn't have a story line or any conception of what this movie is or is supposed to say. No scene or character is developed enough so that one could care about them. Even the music is cut short. The best part of the movie was the credits at the end, where they did play the "Sleepy Time Gal" theme song to completion. The acting was bad and contrived. But, to the actors' credit, without a plot or story line or anything to go on, what could they do? To the movie's credit, some of the random scenes have beautiful photography. I notice a lot of movies these days have a lot of confusing, random scenes that jump around in time. I suppose someone asked "why should a movie be linear?", and now film makers are making non-linear films. But it takes more skill than this move maker has (or most (all?) of the rest) to pull it off. I guess a big ego director is saying? "This is my art, take it or leave it!" Well, I'll leave it.