The Year of Getting to Know Us (2008)

A commitment-phobic man reunites with his estranged, ailing father and comes to terms with his own childhood.

Director:

Patrick Sisam

Writers:

Patrick Sisam (screenplay), Rick Velleu (screenplay)

Stars:

Tom Arnold, Armando Acevedo, Holland Hayes

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Arnold	...	Ron Rocket
Armando Acevedo	...	Mexican Caddie
Holland Hayes	...	Golfer #1
Karl Anthony	...	Golfer #2
Jimmy Fallon	...	Christopher Rocket
Chase Ellison	...	Young Christopher Rocket
Sharon Stone	...	Jane Rocket
Lucy Liu	...	Anne
Susanne Kreitman Taylor	...	Claire (as Susanne K. Taylor)
John Connon	...	Mark
Gary Moss	...	Round Man
Bree Turner	...	Sandi
Gail Golden	...	Perky Woman
Ethan S. Smith	...	Rental Car Guy (as Ethan Smith)
Peggy Sheffield	...	Nurse

Storyline

Christopher Rocket is a man devoted to his work but unable to commit to his girlfriend Anne or anything else in his personal life. He returns to his hometown after his estranged father Tom Rocket suffers a stroke. Jane Rocket, his mother, is a central figure in his dysfunctional past.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 January 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rockett

Filming Locations:

Adventure Landing - 1944 Beach Boulevard, Jacksonville Beach, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Grand Army Entertainment, Holly Wiersma Productions, Ring Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Conan: Something Smelly That Way Went (2011)

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Soundtracks

You Should Be Gone
Written by Phil Deschambault
Performed by Christelle Radomsky

User Reviews

Home is not where the heart is

Christopher Rocket (Jimmy Fallon) returns home after news that his father is dying. Home is Florida, where he was raised by his emotionally-abusing, distant and womanizing father (Tom Arnold) and his soon-to-be-hippie and emotionally-abused mother (Sharon Stone). Home is not where the heart is.

We have many flashbacks of the out-of-whack dynamics of Chris's childhood. Most of which weren't need, primarily because these are good actors, so we only needed a scene or two to see that Chris never got the love and support that he should have.

Chris as an adult is an emotionally-distant and cynical young man. His beautiful girlfriend Anne (Lucy Liu), beautiful on the inside and out, thinks he can grow up, accept his parents and then enter into a mature and committed relationship with her if he has a heart-to-heart with his father in the hospital. You know, the father who's in a coma and the one who has never said a meaningful word to his son in his entire life - oh, how naive some supporting characters can be. The almost brilliantly funny scene of Chris attempting a conversation with his father in the hospital only landed him in jail. Maturity will have to come later.

This is Jimmy Fallon playing a very sullen man in a drama-comedy that is mostly drama. Almost completely drama with a lot of slow scenes building up to emotionally-abusive results which we already knew from previous slow scenes building up to emotionally-abusive results. These struggles with maturity have been seen before, either in other dysfunctional family dramedies or in the first few scenes or trailer of this film since they didn't have too much more to add, but "The Year of Getting to Know Us" is a pretty good film, well acted and with solid characters.