A Beginner's Guide to Endings (2010)

Upon learning they only have a few days left to live, three brothers set off to reverse a lifetime of mistakes.

Director:

Jonathan Sobol

Writers:

Jonathan Sobol, Heidi Sobol (story consultant)

Stars:

Scott Caan, Paulo Costanzo, Jason Jones

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Scott Caan	...	Cal White
Paulo Costanzo	...	Jacob 'Cob' White
Jason Jones	...	Edward 'Nuts' White Jr.
Tricia Helfer	...	Miranda
J.K. Simmons	...	Uncle Pal (as JK Simmons)
Harvey Keitel	...	Duke White
Jared Keeso	...	Juicebox White
Siam Yu	...	Todd White
Stephen McHattie	...	Fitz
James Preston Rogers	...	Big Mitch
Wendy Crewson	...	Goldie White
Allison Graham	...	Waitress
Thomas Michael	...	Ivan
Alex Appel	...	Mindy
Richard Blackburn	...	Doctor

Storyline

In Niagara Falls, Ontario, proverbial loser Edward "Duke" White, father to now four adult and one adolescent sons with three different women, and not much of a father by anyone's estimation, has just killed himself, and although his body is not found, the evidence indicates that he killed himself by going over the falls. Only Duke's only wife, now ex-wife Goldie White, has and had been any sort of mother to all five, despite only being the biological mother to the first three: not too bright Eddie Jr., who had always wanted to be a boxer - he having turned pro for a while, which is where he got his nickname "Nuts" - despite never having shown a real aptitude for the sport; Cal, the slick Lothario who likes the finer things in life, except his women, his type being those that would proudly display their tramp stamp; and Jacob, the smart, responsible straight arrow. From the will read by the executor, the boys' paternal uncle, Father Pal, the boys learn that besides the specifically ...

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Plot Keywords:

brother | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including some sexual references

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite being the smart one of the siblings, Cob makes several spelling mistakes in his list, such as "aeroplane" and "tatoo", such errors which he does later acknowledge.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Duke White: [in voice over as he walks through an empty but brighty lit carnival midway with a noose around his neck and the other end of the rope tied to a large broken tree limb that he is carrying] The events leading up to my death were a lot like the rest of my life. Things didn't go exactly as planned.
Duke White: [still in voice over, switching to an earlier scene of he preparing to hang himself from a tree] If you ask me what the odds in an amateur hanging going off without a hitch were, I'd say about...
[...]

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Connections

References Steel Magnolias (1989)

User Reviews

A very funny and entertaining dark comedy that deserves to be watched. I really liked it. I say B+.

"The events leading up to my death were a lot like the rest of my life, things didn't go exactly as planned." Duke White (Keitel) is dead and his three sons are at the will reading. After hearing what they will get they also get another surprise, due to gambling problems their father signed them up for unsafe drug tests when they were babies and because of that they all find out they will die soon. All three sons handle the news differently but eventually they all take one last run at the one thing they have always wanted to do. Based off the preview this is a movie I was looking forward to. I really like these dark comedies and the cast was pretty good. I have to say that I really enjoyed this movie and laughed throughout, but this is another movie where I laughed at things I shouldn't be laughing at. The idea on it's own is pretty morbid but watching it it comes off as more comedy then depressing. There are some really funny lines in this and the running gag about Cal's (Caan) car is great and I loved hearing what they would say about it next. This is a very funny comedy but is not for everyone. Overall, really funny but this is a dark comedy so you must like that style of humor to fully enjoy this movie. I give it a B+

Details

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

April 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Beginner's Guide to Endings

Filming Locations:

St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Darius Films, The Harold Greenberg Fund

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1