The Place For The Latest Movie Reviews
Cast: Missi Pyle, Josh Hopkins, Phill Lewis, Melissa McCarthy, Octavia L. Spencer, Allison Janney, William Sanderson, Jack Noseworthy, Larry Sullivan, Philip Littell
When chronically overweight Lucy (Missi Pyle) invites a group of her old college pals to Montana for a weekend reunion because "time is running out," the friends assume that Lucy is at death's door, and they rush to her side in this indie comedy. But Lucy's got a few big surprises in store for them -- including a four-day backpacking trip that tests the limits of their friendship … and their sanity.
Once in a while you stumble over one of those rare gems that seemed to stay under everyone's radar for one reason or another and this is one of those films. Unless you attend the film festivals that take place around the country in different states then you most likely never heard of this film but with the release of "Pretty Ugly People" to DVD this week that is all about to change. The story is about Lucy, who in college was the least pretty of her friends on the outside so one day she calls them all up to join her in a reunion because she is "running out of time". Worried about their friend everyone drops what their doing and heads out to join up with Lucy to see what is going on. To give away a lot about the story would only ruin the experience of seeing it for yourself so I am not going to get into details about Lucy's or any of her friend's motivations but I can tell you that the film has a great mix of sad,tender moments as well as some hilarious moments as well. What you need when making a film like this is a cast that can make their characters believable and interesting and the cast here delivers including, Missi Pyle,Melissa McCarthy,Josh Hopkins and Octavia Spencer to name only a few from this fantastic ensemble cast, no one stands out and steals the spotlight, the film needs and succeeds because every actor in the film does a terrific job at playing out their characters. This is the debut for writer/director, Tate Taylor and he does a great job at not only balancing the humor and drama perfectly but also he did a great job at creating characters that are not one dimensional, these are all people you have feelings about in one way or another which is not only rare today but very important. It didn't take long before I was taken in by this film and found myself captivated by what was happening and wanting to see what was going to happen once the friends arrived. Every film has it's flaws and this one is no exception but as far as comedy/dramas go this is about as touching and funny as you are going to find. A terrific debut film that entertains on every level, I look forward to Tate Taylor's next project and seeing the entire cast again in all their future work. A very funny film that delivers on drama which and an endearing message to take with you, Pretty Ugly People is an example of just how great Independent Cinema can be and just how important it is to the entertainment business as a whole.
Released by Osiris Entertainment
**** 1/2 Out Of *****