Straight A's (2013)

Pressured by his deceased mother's ghost to return home to the family he abandoned, a former addict grabs a bag of pills and a sack of marijuana and hits the road to Shreveport.

Director:

James Cox

Writers:

Dave Cole, David Cole (screenplay)

Stars:

Ryan Phillippe, Anna Paquin, Luke Wilson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ryan Phillippe	...	Scott
Anna Paquin	...	Katherine
Luke Wilson	...	William
Riley Thomas Stewart	...	Charles
Ursula Parker	...	Gracie
Amparo Garcia-Crow	...	Louisa
Augustin Solis	...	Carlos
Tess Harper	...	Mother
Powers Boothe	...	Father
Christa Campbell	...	Dana
James Carrol	...	Executive
Josh Meyers	...	Jason
Kristen Williams	...	Nikki / Craps Table Girl #1
Jon Mack	...	Holly / Craps Table Girl #2
Simona Williams	...	Carla / Craps Table Girl #3 (as Simone Levin)

Storyline

Pressured by his deceased mother's ghost to return home to the family he abandoned, a former addict grabs a bag of pills and a sack of marijuana and hits the road to Shreveport.

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Plot Keywords:

deceased mother | boy girl relationship | husband wife relationship | louisiana | love | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some drug use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 2013 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

To mystiko tis apotyhias mou

Filming Locations:

Shreveport, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Group Films, The, Millennium Films, Nu Image Films

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Scott: There's more to life than getting straight A's.

User Reviews

Simple family dynamics haphazardly put together

"Straight A's" is a simple family drama. The mysterious Uncle Scott (Ryan Phillippe) and his drug use and slacker attitude is a bad influence on the Henderson kids. Uptight Katherine (Anna Paquin) just wants him out of the house and wants her distant husband William (Luke Wilson) back home. The kids are pretty separate from all of this - they have their own story line where Scott shows them that "there's more to life than getting straight A's."

"He loves her; she loves his brother" - the tag line from the film's poster suggests that it's a comedy. Because that's just how love triangles usually play out. But here they went for drama. The drama of a marriage in trouble, the drama of strained family relations and the drama of an immature adult teaching life lessons to children. These are three different themes and stories, and the amateur editing didn't do them any favours. The parts don't add up to a greater whole even though they look like they could be fairly compelling.

The main problem as others have alluded to is that it just interesting enough. The actors are all good. Ryan Phillippe in particular is channelling a young Brad Pitt with a Texas accent, a swagger and killer looks to support that swagger. Anna Paquin is way more grown up than we've seen her before - mature with a subdued but strong determination. Unfortunately Luke Wilson is left to fend for himself since all his scenes are removed from the Southern family dynamic.

The kids are really just used as filler (and for some reason the title as well) probably to help ground the adult drama - to give their relationship dynamics more substance. But I would like to think that if the character of Scott was solidified a bit more he could have done that himself. Scott is a little strange - sees the image of his dead mother, and it's hard to say what his intentions are with Katherine. At least he's sweet and funny when he's with the kids.

"Straight A's" has some structure and pacing issues - it moves way too slowly at times. I also think that's what holds the story back. The family definitely has things to say about family dynamics; some of which get dragged out with lack of interest, some of which are a little strange but also a little bit intriguing, and some of which have been told before but there isn't much harm in telling them again. The film is a little too staid to appeal to many people but those who like the Texas/Louisiana culture with some country twang to their family drama should like it a lot.