Humble Pie (2007) American Fork (original title)

Director:

Chris Bowman

Writers:

Hubbel Palmer (screenplay)
Hubbel Palmer (story) ...
(more)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

The life and times of Tracy Orbison, a grocery clerk with the mind of a dreamer, the soul of a poet and the body of a really fat man.

Plot:

At nearly 400 pounds, Tracy Orbison is a wide target. When he sets out to pursue his dream of acting...

Awards:

6 wins

Cast

Hubbel Palmer	...	Tracy Orbison
Kathleen Quinlan	...	Agnes Orbison
Geoff Hansen	...	Driving Instructor
Scott Lincoln	...	Lyle
Rae Ritke	...	Helen
Bruce McGill	...	Mr. Grigoratus
Mary Lynn Rajskub	...	Peggy Orbison
William Baldwin	...	Truman Hope
Megan Ferguson	...	Young and Plain
Vincent Caso	...	Kendis Cooley
Miki Eto	...	Hsao-Wei
Micaela Nelligan	...	Laverne
Janet Varney	...	Joleen
Rob Steiner	...	Benji
Guangze Zhu	...	Mr. Wong
Ron Frederickson	...	Mr. Waverly
Nick Lashaway	...	Shawn
Tarren McGray	...	Steve (as Terren McGray)
Stephen Groo	...	Video Clerk
Tony Larimer	...	Old Man
Michael Todd Behrens	...	Arresting Officer 1
Charles Halford	...	Curtis (as Charlie Halford)
Dan Christensen	...	Prime Meridian Director
Bruce Abbott	...	Captain Atticus
Simona Fusco	...	Lieutenant
Brent Florence	...	Ensign Meehan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Caso	...	Maitre D (uncredited)
Bill Gillane	...	Award Presenter (uncredited)
Lincoln Hoppe	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Aidan McKinney	...	Boy in Pizza Parlor (uncredited)
Denali McKinney	...	Girl in Pizza Parlor (uncredited)

Directed by
Chris Bowman

Writing credits
Hubbel Palmer		(screenplay)
Hubbel Palmer		(story) &
Nathan Scoll		(story)

Produced by
Derek Beumer	....	producer
Maya Browne	....	producer
Jeremy Coon	....	producer
Derek Ferguson	....	executive producer
Shannon Gardner	....	producer (as Shannon B. Gardner)
Louis Hagney	....	associate producer
Brandon Oldenburg	....	executive producer: title sequence
Ian Puente	....	associate producer
Nathan Scoll	....	associate producer
Lance Youngberg	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Bobby Johnston

Cinematography by
Doug Chamberlain

Film Editing by
Cary Gries

Casting by
Carol Lewis
Jory Weitz

Production Design by
Anne K. Black

Art Direction by
Justin Partridge

Costume Design by
Mandi Line

Makeup Department
Aubrey Jensen	....	assistant makeup artist
Alex Noble	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Pete Herzog	....	head of production: titles
Yari Schutzer	....	unit production manager
Lance Youngberg	....	associate production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Amber Bollinger	....	second assistant director
Andrew Shepherd	....	assistant director

Art Department
Katherine Brim	....	on-set dresser
Daniel DelPurgatorio	....	titles director
Clark Edmunds	....	art swing
Jacob A. Jessop	....	art swing gang
Brad Johnson	....	art assistant
Joshua Ligairi	....	property master
Roger Peterson	....	swing
William Rowan Jr.	....	props assistant

Sound Department
Bryan Baird	....	sound mixer
Jason Freedman	....	supervising sound editor
Chris Julian Irwin	....	foley artist
Chris Julian Irwin	....	foley mixer
Chris Julian	....	sound post-production
Mark Linden	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tara Paul	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jo Richardson	....	boom operator
Harry E. Snodgrass	....	supervising sound editor
Jessica Gaston	....	m&e mixer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Laura Bussinger	....	titles coordinator

Stunts
Chester E. Tripp III	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Ty Arnold	....	second assistant camera
Alex Boynton	....	grip
Ross Chamberlain	....	camera loader
Daryl Didier	....	gaffer
Richard E. Garcia	....	first assistant camera (as Richard Garcia)
Jason Goodell	....	electrician
Paul Meehan	....	key grip
Michael Roberts	....	still photographer
Chad Jeffrey Russey	....	grip intern
Aaron Schnobrich	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Aaron Schnobrich	....	best boy electric
Marty Stiles	....	second assistant camera
Nathan Stock	....	best boy grip (as Nate Stock)
Carlos Tapia	....	electrician
Tyler Winegar	....	grip

Animation Department
Rob Foster	....	animator: opening titles

Casting Department
Rakefet Abergel	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Barbara Lambert	....	costume supervisor
Brooke Westberg	....	set costumer

Editorial Department
Chris McKinley	....	additional editing
Katy Skjerping	....	additional editor (as Katherine Fisher)
Ralph Tarr	....	color timer

Transportation Department
Richard Cote	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Greg Bernstein	....	legal services
Stephen Book	....	creative consultant
Marie Brookman	....	production accountant
Joe Cappelletti	....	adr voice director
Drew Champion	....	location assistant
Carol A. Compton	....	script clearance
Cory Cope	....	production coordinator
Jonathan Craddock	....	location manager
Jonny Craddock	....	location manager
Gregg L. Daniel	....	producer's representative
Tyrone Davies	....	craft service
Phil Elson	....	intern
Ramiro 'Melo' Flores	....	location manager
Chad Gooch	....	production assistant
Justin Claus Harder	....	title designer
Donald Hayden III	....	assistant to producers
Steven G. Kaplan	....	producer's representative
Alexandria Klipstein	....	intern (as Alex Klipstein)
Jeff Kramer	....	intern
Daren McCracken	....	intern
Holly Miller	....	intern
Aaron Orullian	....	set production assistant
Mike Patterson	....	key production assistant
Chuck Peil	....	vice president of business development
Connie A. Peterson	....	script supervisor
Tom Porter	....	studio teacher
Chad Jeffrey Russey	....	community liaison
Chad Jeffrey Russey	....	location scout
Chad Jeffrey Russey	....	production assistant
Aaron Lee Syrett	....	film commissioner
Holly Vasic	....	intern
Whitney J. Willard	....	production auditor

Production Companies

• Alkaline Industries
• American Fork Productions
• Bratt Studios
• Framework Pictures (II)
• Jeremy Coon Productions

Distributors

• Monterey Media

Other Companies

• Bratt Studios  in association with
• Craze Agency, The  talent agency and representative
• Imagine Post  post-production
• IndieClear  script clearance
• Jeremy Coon Productions  in association with
• Low Hanging Fruit  presented by
• Media Distributors Film Source  Fuji film provided by
• Redman Movies and Stories  grip and lighting equipment
• Reel FX Creative Studios  titles
• Reel FX Creative Studios  titles (as Reel FX [us])

Also Known As:

"American Fork" - USA (original title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and violence

Runtime:

USA:84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #45676) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Utah, USA

Company:

Alkaline Industries

Goofs:

Continuity: When Tracy and Kendis go to get pizza, the pizza is cheese and pineapple when the waitress brings it out, in the next shot the pizza has pepperoni and pineapple.

Quotes:

Tracy Orbison:[impersonating Kendis' dad] Don't get me wrong, I'm as potent as picante sauce - it's my wife who had the troubled womb. She was as impregnable as Hitler's bunker.

Movie Connections:

References "JAG" (1995)

Soundtrack:

Wong Way

Help yourself to a heap of Humble Pie.

Awhile back I received in the mail a box, much larger than that which would normally contain a DVD. Yet that is precisely what it was: a DVD—and a very imaginative press kit. There was a tin plate, a plastic fork, and all sorts of candies shaped like hotdogs, hamburgers, etc. It made me smile and think "how creative".

Well that is precisely the reaction I had to watching this sweet, tender film. Eschewing the scatology that passes as wit in Hollywood these days, HUMBLE PIE displays tremendous wit, compassion and understanding about people. It also establishes the enormous presence of hugely-talented young writer/star Hubbel Palmer, who stars as Tracy Orbison, a gentle grocery clerk who dreams of achieving a higher purpose in life.

Multiple failed driver's tests serve as a metaphor for the challenges Tracy faces in his life. He has a strange home life with his eccentric mother and mousy sister (her hobby is collecting stuffed animals—sort of a Laura character from THE GLASS MENAGERIE, except her frailty is emotional, not physical). His well-meaning boss at the grocery store (the always reliable Bruce McGill) is helpful, but only up to a point. Tracy's friends sometimes let him down. His best efforts sometimes blow up in his face. Through it all, however, Tracy maintains a sunny disposition and a determination that is positively inspiring.

Thus the film follows Tracy's adventures as he struggles to achieve his goals. His foray into drama is made positively hilarious by the inspired casting of William Baldwin as his egotistical acting teacher. I'm not a Billy Baldwin fan by any stretch of the imagination, so it was positively delightful to be won over by his spot on performance as an actor whose ego far exceeds his talent. Baldwin has the best line of the film after watching Tracy play a bit part on television.

If the film has a weakness, in my opinion, it is that the story didn't quite resolve as fully as I would've liked. When Tracy shares his poetry with a colleague from the grocery store, her reaction is not what I thought (and hoped) it would be. Of course, maybe that's the whole point: life is like that, but Tracy is so gol-darned lovable that I wanted a better payoff for him.

Another reason to see this film is to enjoy Kathleen Quinlan's outstanding performance as Tracy's mother. Quinlan was pretty high profile in the seventies before fading into semi-obscurity. Like so many actresses, it seems she was brushed aside when she became a certain age. This dismissive attitude towards women in particular and talent in general, is one of Hollywood's biggest ongoing sins. Quinlan is terrific. True, she was nominated for an Oscar for her work in APOLLO 13 in 1994, but this lady should be much better known than she is.

HUMBLE PIE has its heart in the right place. You will love these characters. Hubbel Palmer is the quintessential underdog. You'll be rooting for him from the first scene.