Just Add Water (I) (2008)

An offbeat romantic comedy about a decent guy, Ray Tuckby, with a dead-end life in the dead-end town of Trona, CA. After encouragement from a stranger whom he happens upon, Ray begins to dream again. He sheds the parasites in his life, musters the nerve to pursue his childhood love, and finally takes back his community by toppling the local teenage Meth-baron.

Director:

Hart Bochner

Writer:

Hart Bochner

Stars:

Dylan Walsh, Jonah Hill, Justin Long

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dylan Walsh	...	Ray Tuckby
Jonah Hill	...	Eddie
Justin Long	...	Spoonie
Danny DeVito	...	Merl Striker
Tracy Middendorf	...	Nora
Melissa McCarthy	...	Selma
Anika Noni Rose	...	R'ch'lle
Lindsey Axelsson	...	Chrisy
Will Rothhaar	...	Dirk
Joey Kern	...	Scotty
Penny Balfour	...	Charlene
Lee Garlington	...	Penny
Michael Hitchcock	...	Mark Tuckby
Tracey Walter	...	Clem (as Tracy Walter)
June Squibb	...	Mother

Storyline

Close to the entrance to Death Valley is the God-forsaken town of Trona. It's nearly empty: dry, with polluted water and poisoned soil. Dilapidated houses hold slackers and stoners. The town is virtually owned by Dirk, a heartless young meth dealer. In the midst of this lives Ray Tuckby, a naïf, unhappily married with a slothful son. The highlight of Ray's day is chatting with Nora, a clerk at the market. When Ray comes home early from work and finds his wife in bed with his brother, a few things start to change. Then he meets Merl, who's putting in a Chevron station, and Merl encourages Ray to dream. Can he? A recipe for meringue may hold one of the keys.

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Plot Keywords:

tollbooth guard | vigilante justice | california | drugs | middle age romance | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some sexual content and drug material

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 March 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

One Part Sugar

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$625,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bleeding Hart Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
Ray Tuckby: Thanks for coming. Would you like a receipt with that? Don't forget to take a mint.
Ray Tuckby: Thanks for coming. Would you like a receipt with that? Don't forget to take a mint.
Ray Tuckby: Thanks for coming. Would you like a receipt with that? Don't forget to take a mint.
Ray Tuckby: Thanks for coming. Would you like a receipt with that? Don't forget to take a mint.

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Soundtracks

"Cuts Like A Blade"
by Dusty Wright (AKA Mark J. Petracca)

User Reviews

Modest, formulaic, but nice.

This is a quite enjoyable movie, well-made and pretty much an atmosphere piece, which is extremely formulaic (you'll know everything that's going to happen more than half-way through), but actually succeeds at being the sort of 'heart-warming' stuff that so many films market themselves as and fail at.

The humor is just offbeat enough to be particular, and I was actually quite happy to see that there were practically no pop culture references; this is significant, because for me, this means there's an actual story sustaining itself, rather than 'shout-outs' to the audience's immersion in contemporary culture.

And finally, perhaps most significantly: Jonah Hall, who I have disparaged in other posts, and whose acting I generally dislike, was actually quite good in this film. In other films, I've felt as if he was simply trying to imitate 'Cartman' from Southpark; there is a bit of that in this film, but Hall makes the role his own, and actually becomes a character you really care about, and feel Ray's pride and disappointment in. Perhaps Hall is developing as an actor, or perhaps this movie simply allowed him to do a better job.

This is a pretty nice 'date movie'. One of the only 'feel good' movies I've ever seen that wasn't saccharin and annoying.