Monday, September 9, 2013

A Wholesome and Naughty Film, Neither Very Good

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“Tio Papi” Wholesome as a Slice of White Bread

Movies don’t come much more wholesome than “Tio Papi,” which made its debut at the 2012 Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival and opens Sept. 6 at Shadowood Theaters.
How wholesome? “Tio Papi” received the Dove Seal of Approval from the Dove Foundation for entertainment that encourages positive values.
Joey Dedio, a prostate cancer survivor who divides his time between New York City and Miami, co-wrote (with Brian Herskowitz) and stars as Ray Ray Dominguez, a hard-working but carefree Brooklyn bachelor of Latin heritage whose life changes radically when his sister and her husband are killed in a car crash, leaving six children ages 6 to 16 orphans.
When stern and strict social worker Elizabeth Warden (a nearly unrecognizable Kelly McGillis) threatens to make the children wards of the state if he doesn’t get his act together within 30 days, Ray Ray rises to the occasion and says he will serve as a “Tio Papi” (Uncle Daddy).
Comedy and drama ensue as Ray Ray ineptly copes with the demands and responsibility of fatherhood on a very limited budget, with some help from his estranged girlfriend Cheeky (Elizabeth Rodriguez).
Miami native Fro Rojas directs this improbable farce. It is definitely not for the cynical. Yes it is wholesome, but also tediously bland.


Cougars “Adore” in Australia

On the other side of the coin we have “Adore” from the other side of the world: Australia.
Naomi Watts and Robin Wright play middle-aged mothers- cougars if you will- each with a hunky teenage son (Xavier Samuel and James Frecheville).
These lifelong friends live in an improbably perfect seaside retreat. Dramatic conflict ensues when each of the moms begins to mess around with the other’s son.
Directed by Anne Fontaine and based on a novella by Nobel Prize-winner Doris Lessing, “Adore” is more melancholy than titillating, as all the players resign themselves to more age-appropriate partners or living alone. The scenery sure is gorgeous though.
“Adore” opens Sept. 6 at Living Room Theaters.




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