Ceremony (2011)
Starring Uma Thurman, Michael Angarano, Reece Thompson, and Lee Pace
Directed by Max Winkler
***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***
Ceremony is a quirky little dramedy that I'm sure 99% of people never heard of, and while admittedly it's not exactly a movie that deserves a ton of recognition, it was an interesting enough diversion for me not to be ticked off that I wasted my time watching it. That said, it's not without some story issues that end up .
Starting off rather promisingly, Ceremony follows early twentysomething friends Sam (Michael Angarano) and Marshall (Reece Thompson) as they trek to a coastal town for a weekend getaway. While Marshall thinks it's an opportunity to spend time with his buddy who has been preoccupied over the past year with writing his latest children's book, Sam's intent of the trip is to crash the wedding of the slightly older Zoe (Uma Thurman) with whom he had a relationship a few years ago. While Zoe still feels something for the younger Sam, she can't help but feel that their May-December romance would be doomed to fail despite her beau's attempts to woo her away from her documentary filmmaker fiancé Whit (Lee Pace).
Yes, there are moments where the oddball characters are too bizarre to be believed, but fortunately Michael Angarano is a rather charming leading guy. There's no doubt that his Sam is an unrealistic person, but Angarano sells the assertive romantic who's much more insecure than his hellbent attitude causes him to appear. Certainly the nucleus of the film, had Angarano failed, the flick would've been a disaster, but he managed to win me over from the opening scene and surprisingly carried the peculiar charm throughout.
In the grand scheme of things, Uma Thurman's Zoe is almost a throwaway...and that's partly where the film falls apart. In the end, Ceremony is a movie that's absolutely should be about the Sam-Zoe relationship, but much too much focus is placed upon Sam's failing friendship with Marshall. While the insecure Marshall was certainly an amusing character (and the nearly polar opposite of the headstrong Sam), the film isn't really about this duo and first time director-writer Max Winkler can't find the adequate balance between these two people in Sam's life.
***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***
Starting off rather promisingly, Ceremony follows early twentysomething friends Sam (Michael Angarano) and Marshall (Reece Thompson) as they trek to a coastal town for a weekend getaway. While Marshall thinks it's an opportunity to spend time with his buddy who has been preoccupied over the past year with writing his latest children's book, Sam's intent of the trip is to crash the wedding of the slightly older Zoe (Uma Thurman) with whom he had a relationship a few years ago. While Zoe still feels something for the younger Sam, she can't help but feel that their May-December romance would be doomed to fail despite her beau's attempts to woo her away from her documentary filmmaker fiancé Whit (Lee Pace).
Yes, there are moments where the oddball characters are too bizarre to be believed, but fortunately Michael Angarano is a rather charming leading guy. There's no doubt that his Sam is an unrealistic person, but Angarano sells the assertive romantic who's much more insecure than his hellbent attitude causes him to appear. Certainly the nucleus of the film, had Angarano failed, the flick would've been a disaster, but he managed to win me over from the opening scene and surprisingly carried the peculiar charm throughout.
In the grand scheme of things, Uma Thurman's Zoe is almost a throwaway...and that's partly where the film falls apart. In the end, Ceremony is a movie that's absolutely should be about the Sam-Zoe relationship, but much too much focus is placed upon Sam's failing friendship with Marshall. While the insecure Marshall was certainly an amusing character (and the nearly polar opposite of the headstrong Sam), the film isn't really about this duo and first time director-writer Max Winkler can't find the adequate balance between these two people in Sam's life.
The RyMickey Rating: C
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