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:

contest | commercial | prize | priest | money | 

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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

Robert Zemeckis ultimately decided not to direct, because he couldn't bear the thought of working with so many children. (There were twenty involved in the production.) He stayed on as a Producer.

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Goofs

In her book upon which this screenplay was based, author Terry Ryan indicates that during the shopping spree Evelyn Ryan was prohibited from taking more than one of any individual item however in the filmed spree the Evelyn character grabs two, three or even more of many items like lollipops, candy, pineapples, etc.

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Quotes

Evelyn Ryan: Do you know that U.S. Army research has shown a relationship between intelligence and willingness to eat unfamiliar foods?

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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

Features Queen for a Day (1956)

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Soundtracks

Frisk the Frigidaire
Written by Brian Kirk and Evelyn Ryan
Performed by The Jarre Sisters

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.