Vacationland (2006)

Filmmaker Todd Verow revisits his own youth for his latest work. The film's main character is Joe, who, like the director, grew up in Bangor in Maine. Joe, an 18 year old high school senior... See full summary »

Director:

Todd Verow

Writers:

Jim Dwyer (screenplay), Todd Verow (screenplay),

Stars:

Brad Hallowell, Gregory J. Lucas, Hilary Mann

Cast

Credited cast:
Brad Hallowell	...	Joe
Gregory J. Lucas	...	Andrew (as Gregory L. Lucas)
Hilary Mann	...	Theresa
Michael Dion	...	Tim (as Michael John Dion)
Charles Ard	...	Victor
Jennifer Stackpole	...	Mandy
Mindy Hofman	...	Kris
Nathan Johnson	...	Mr. LaBlanc
Theodore Bouloukos	...	Richard
Gregg Anderson	...	Sandi
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jono Mainelli	...	John

Storyline

Filmmaker Todd Verow revisits his own youth for his latest work. The film's main character is Joe, who, like the director, grew up in Bangor in Maine. Joe, an 18 year old high school senior who longs to move away from poor white trash roots and this town, and dreams of attending art school, lives with his single mother and older sister Theresa on a notorious council estate called "Capehart Projects". Molested at the age of ten, Joe nevertheless decides to keep the incident to himself. He befriends an elderly disabled artist named Victor who hires him as houseboy/model. Joe moves in with Victor in his loft above the local opera house, hoping to escape Bangor with his help. He also works part time at a local market along with his sister, who wants to get out of town as much as he does. For most of high school, Joe has also had a crush on his best friend, Andrew, who plays on the high school football team. He also fools around with his French teacher, whom he blackmails into helping him ...

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Plot Keywords:

high school | crush | high school senior | french teacher | maine | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 June 2007 (Germany)

Filming Locations:

Bangor, Maine, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bangor Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Raw and unpretentious

This film is about a young man's painful journey to discovering his sexuality.

The film is raw and unpretentious. It does not rely on steamy sex scenes to attract the viewers. Though the plot may seem incoherent and disconnected at times, and some events are not properly explained. I can understand it though, because this film is a collection of memories that are highly personal to the director. The subplot of about his sister and mother probably does not need to exist in the film, but I can certainly imagine that these are very important events in his life.

The low budget of the film is clearly discernible. It is a pity that the sound effects are poorly done. The narration and some dialogs (particularly the scene in the classroom with the French teacher) have so much echo, which makes it hard to make out what is said. The ambient noise, notable traffic noise, is also captured throughout the film. When a scene cuts into another, the level of traffic noise changes.

This film is probably not entertaining, but it certainly serves as an insightful diary of a young man's journey to embracing his sexuality.