5/10
To the 1 star reviewist- my ten cents
4 April 2006
Are you a bitter out of work filmmaker or something? Granted, this movie was not quite as good as people on IMDb.com suggest, but you make it sound like its completely pointless - it's not.

Pete Shawba is a first time director and this story has been stated as being autobiographical. The film was in fact shot in Marinette, Wisconsin for less than a million dollars, and as a filmmaker, I thought many things were impressive, not extraordinary, not bad.

One of the things you have to consider when you make a low budget movie is that you will have many unknown or first time actors appearing in the movie either underperforming, overperforming, or surprise you and hit it right on. The Godfather of Green Bay did that.

The biases you're referring to are people from Marinette who recognized many of the locations (I'm from Marinette as well but I try to remain on neutral ground.) There were some things that I did not like: the overuse of the Macarena, the emphasis of stereotypes and the overall low budget feel when the bartender announces that Rocktoberfest has begun- it seems as if this event only takes place in a small bar, where a field full of campers, stages, and drunk Wisconsinites would be more appropriate. Instead we get the later, which if you're like me (An indie filmmaker), the lack of depth is forgivable.

As for Lauren Holly and other name actors appearing in the film, they all performed well and kudos for appearing in a film that obvious isn't mainstream and paying for a second home in Hollywood.

Last word: This movie, for the first time in movie history, shows Northeastern Wisconsin in bloom of fall, capturing the beauty of the tree along the highways near Marinette. I was please to recognize many locations (Mickey Lu's and Trade Winds in Marinette, the playground on the Menominee, MI Marina with the library in the background. I loved seeing Wisconsin on film and I was pleased to see that someone other than myself has made a movie in Marinette.

5 out of 10.
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