Standing Still (2005/II)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Matthew Cole Weiss

Writers:

Matthew Perniciaro (writer)
Timm Sharp (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Sometimes it's hard moving forward without first looking back.

Plot:

Standing Still is the story of a popular yet drunken actor who reconnects with a group of his college friends for a wedding several years after graduation.

Plot Keywords:

Wedding | Lesbian Scene | Party | Lesbian | Lesbian Kiss

Cast

Jon Abrahams	...	Pockets
Amy Adams	...	Elise
Roger Avary	...	Franklin Brauner
Xander Berkeley	...	Jonathan
Ethan Embry	...	Donovan
Adam Garcia	...	Michael
Lauren German	...	Jennifer
Colin Hanks	...	Quentin
Melissa Sagemiller	...	Samantha
Aaron Stanford	...	Rich
Mena Suvari	...	Lana
James Van Der Beek	...	Simon
Marnette Patterson	...	Sarah
Nikki Schieler Ziering	...	Prostitute / Cop
Dakota Sky	...	Kid

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality, nudity, language and some drug use.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-11 | Australia:MA | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company:

Insomnia Entertainment

Quotes:

Franklin Brauner: Hello, I'm Franklin Brauner, I don't think we've met. My dick is so big it won't fit into a tennis ball can.

Movie Connections:

References The Deer Hunter (1978)

Soundtrack:

The Full Sentence

Crafty

These "slice of life", realist drama-comedies are far from my favorite genre, but as a serious movie buff, I've seen tens of them over the years, and Standing Still is right up there with the best of them.

The only flaw I can find, really, is the title, which is a bit enigmatic (not that I mind enigmas, but it's a bit out of context here). A better title would have been "Secrets", or even "Shuffle" if something less obvious was desired, as the plot is focused on an event--a wedding--that brings a wide range of people together, some unexpected, almost all with some kind of secret, and reshuffles them in various ways--often through revelations of their secrets.

Realist movies can easily become unfocused or boring--after all, that's true of most folks' lives if we were to follow them around with a video camera and expect people who don't know them to be entertained watching the results. But Standing Still manages to create suspense, tension and a healthy dose of humor while expertly weaving together a large number of threads, all while keeping things fairly firmly in realist territory and providing satisfactory resolutions. It's also emotionally satisfying and relatively "deep", often in subtle ways, all aided by the fantastic performances. Everyone says just as much with subtle body language as they do via their dialogue, and this just as often occurs in what could tend to be read as the lighter or shallower scenes.

I wanted to see far more about every one of these characters--and we could hardly call that a flaw.