Anywhere, USA (2008)

Told in three segments ranging from satirical to tragic, the film is a wildly original look at American manners, prejudices, and family dynamics.

Director:

Chusy (as Chusy Haney-Jardine)

Writers:

Chusy (as Chusy Haney-Jardine), Jennifer MacDonald

Stars:

Frank Avery, Jeremiah Brennan, Ralph Brierley

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Frank Avery	...	Dr. Google
Jeremiah Brennan	...	Uncle Jeremiah
Ralph Brierley	...	Ralph
Dianne Chapman	...	Dianne
Mike Ellis	...	Gene
Brian Fox	...	Little Ricky
Susie Greene	...	Pat the Realtor
Mary Griffin	...	Tammy
Perla Haney-Jardine	...	Pearl
Sheliah Ray Hipps	...	Sheliah
Ellis Robinson	...	Ellis
Molly Surrett	...	Molly

Storyline

Told in three segments ranging from satirical to tragic, the film is a wildly original look at American manners, prejudices, and family dynamics.

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Plot Keywords:

prejudice | flowerpot | invitation | ice | realtor | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

17 January 2008 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Asheville, North Carolina, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Studio On Hudson

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min 109 min (DVD)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1 / (high definition)

Did You Know?

Connections

References Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986)

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Soundtracks

Asheville Suite
Written & Performed by Arizona

User Reviews

Sneering is easy, but you have to do it well

I saw this film in the London Film Festival. I was really looking forward to an intelligent satire but unfortunately Anywhere, USA just did not deliver. The film is in three segments, the first a tale of rednecks and suspected terrorism, the second a faux-naive whimsical story about a hippy-burnout and a kid losing her faith in the tooth-fairy, and the third a tale of a WASPy old guy deciding he really must get out and meet some black folks. The middle segment is quite sweet and has some good ideas. The first and last parts are utterly charmless with barely a funny moment between them.

As you get to the end of the film, you begin to realise that the three segments are supposed to be parodies of common types of Hollywood films: the dumb action movie (e.g. Die Hard), the whimsical indie movie (e.g. Little Miss Sunshine) and the story of wealthy middle-aged guys going off the rails (e.g. American Beauty). The structure of the whole thing was also reminiscent of Magnolia type many-strands-coming-together films. To me, though, this aspect of the film was really unsatisfying - it is not enough to excuse something obvious and charmless by saying "We were actually parodying something obvious and charmless" (For the record, I don't think the films just mentioned are obvious and charmless, but I get the sense the makers of this film did.)

More than this, however, was the contempt that the film seemed to show for its audience. At one point, the film deliberately shows an implausible scene, allowing the audience to think "oh well that was implausible" and then comments on the deliberate implausibility of the film. It is a cheap trick, and it is neither big nor clever.

Effective satire relies on originality, sharp wit and being scrupulously fair (rather than trying to score cheap points). On this score, as on every other, this film fails to deliver. I can stand bad films, but not bad films that are so self-satisfied with so little justification. If this is what passes for a prizewinner at Sundance then that festival needs to take a long hard look at itself.