The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio (2005)

In order to support her ten children, Evelyn Ryan enters a commercial jingle-writing contest.

Director:

Jane Anderson

Writers:

Terry Ryan (book), Jane Anderson (screenplay)

Stars:

Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Laura Dern

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julianne Moore	...	Evelyn Ryan
Woody Harrelson	...	Kelly Ryan
Laura Dern	...	Dortha Schaefer
Trevor Morgan	...	Bruce Ryan at 16 yrs
Ellary Porterfield	...	Tuff Ryan at 13, 16 & 18 yrs
Simon Reynolds	...	Ray the Milkman
Monté Gagné	...	Lea Anne Ryan at 17 yrs
Robert Clark	...	Dick Ryan at 16 yrs
Michael Seater	...	Bub Ryan at 15 yrs
Erik Knudsen	...	Rog Ryan at 13 yrs
Jake Scott	...	Bruce Ryan at 11 yrs
Jordan Todosey	...	Tuff Ryan at 9 yrs
Ryan Price	...	Mike Ryan at 6 yrs
Shae Norris	...	Barb Ryan at 4 yrs
Abigail Falle	...	Betsy Ryan at 2 yrs

Storyline

Kelly and Evelyn Ryan live in Defiance, Ohio with their 10 children. At first glance their life seems idyllic; they call each other "Mother" and "Father" and seem to dote on the kids. But Kelly was a garage-band crooner whose voice was ruined in an auto accident. He's resigned to a dead-end factory job that barely pays the bills, and is given to fits of alcohol-induced rage. Evelyn, a stay-at-home wife and mother, deals with this abuse by appealing to her priest, who is no help at all. She deals with their poverty by entering the jingle contests that were the rage in the 50's and early 60's, even sending in multiple entries in the names of the children. She is very clever at it, winning more than her share of prizes, but her successes aren't enough to keep the wolf from the door. Further, they trigger Kelly's insecurities and he retreats deeper into the bottle, using food and mortgage money to support the habit. Can the loving, optimistic Evelyn hold the family together? Is she ...

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Plot Keywords:

freaking out | gasoline station | dysfunctional marriage | watching television | contest | 

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Taglines:

The true story of how a mother raised ten kids on twenty-five words or less.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, some disturbing images and language

Details

Official Sites:

Dream Works [United States] Go Fish Pictures

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 June 2007 (Spain)

Also Known As:

La ganadora

Filming Locations:

Brampton, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$159,056, 2 October 2005, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$626,310, 20 November 2005

Company Credits

Production Co:

Revolution Erie Productions Ltd., ImageMovers

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Contrary to the movie, the real-life Evelyn Ryan and her son did get to take a trip to New York City, where they stayed at Waldorf-Astoria, saw the Broadway musical "The Music Man", dined at Sardi's, and appeared on a television show hosted by Merv Griffin as part of the "Name The Sandwich" contest prize.

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Goofs

On two different occasions, the characters talk about the radiator in the Ryan family car. They pronounce it with an A sound as in "hat". People in Northwest Ohio and Northeast Indiana do not say rAd-iator. That is largely a Philadelphia / South Jersey pronunciation.

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Quotes

Evelyn Ryan: I don't need you to make me happy. I just need you to leave me alone when I am.

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Crazy Credits

Before the ending credits roll, updates are given of all the children and of Ms. Schaefer along with their real life photos.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Into the Blue/Serenity/The Greatest Game Ever Played/Mirrormask/Capote/The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio (2005)

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Soundtracks

Sitting on Top of the World
(1925)
Music by Ray Henderson
Lyrics by Sam Lewis and Joe Young
Performed by Woody Harrelson

User Reviews

Another small beauty

This one came to me in the form of an Academy screener so it's eligible for Oscars - but I had never heard of it - nor read anything about it. So, it's a true sleeper. It's not perfect, but it's a really lovely movie nevertheless and deserves to be better known - certainly by Oscar voters who otherwise might give it a miss. If you are an Academy voter reading this please don't disregard this movie - once again it proves that so many of the smaller American films are the really good ones - small budgets give the director/writers a much better chance, and to have producers looking after you (like Steve Starkey & Robert Zemeckis in this case) is enormously helpful - but one fears that the distributors have decided to bury this gem.....come on guys, give it the chance it needs.