Wow. Movies don't get much better than this little gem.
The setting - a small, very close-knit, conservative Baptist Church in the American Deep South, more than one of whose members turns out to be gay - may be off-putting to some, but perhaps others will get past contemporary stereotypes and discover this wonderful little movie - because nothing in The Wise Kids is either predictable or stereotyped.
None of the characters are one-dimensional villains or good guys, gays don't hate Christians and Christians don't hate gays, homos and heteros get along okay - and yet (and this is the movie's most astounding accomplishment) every person in it is real and complex and nobody gets shoehorned into a false and creepy "let's all just love one another" box.
These are real people, doing what real people do in tough situations. Not ranting at each other like the morons on talk radio and in government but living together, working through their differences instead of using the differences to attack each other.
Without ever being the least bit sappy or manipulative or simplistic, this movie shows what love is: Loving is hard most of the time, and it hurts - a LOT - sometimes, but it's worth every tear and every drop of blood it costs.
This is a fantastic movie. The actors are great, every last one of them (although Allison Torem as Laura is electrifying, the steady, pulsing heart of the movie); the story and dialog are smart without ever seeming to be smart, interesting and entertaining without ever being mindless: just people talking to each other about things that matter to them; and the direction by Stephen Cone - pulling all of this together so beautifully and so powerfully, while writing AND producing AND acting one of the main roles - is just astounding.
I cannot praise this movie highly enough or recommend it enthusiastically enough. It deserves far more recognition than it will ever get.
The setting - a small, very close-knit, conservative Baptist Church in the American Deep South, more than one of whose members turns out to be gay - may be off-putting to some, but perhaps others will get past contemporary stereotypes and discover this wonderful little movie - because nothing in The Wise Kids is either predictable or stereotyped.
None of the characters are one-dimensional villains or good guys, gays don't hate Christians and Christians don't hate gays, homos and heteros get along okay - and yet (and this is the movie's most astounding accomplishment) every person in it is real and complex and nobody gets shoehorned into a false and creepy "let's all just love one another" box.
These are real people, doing what real people do in tough situations. Not ranting at each other like the morons on talk radio and in government but living together, working through their differences instead of using the differences to attack each other.
Without ever being the least bit sappy or manipulative or simplistic, this movie shows what love is: Loving is hard most of the time, and it hurts - a LOT - sometimes, but it's worth every tear and every drop of blood it costs.
This is a fantastic movie. The actors are great, every last one of them (although Allison Torem as Laura is electrifying, the steady, pulsing heart of the movie); the story and dialog are smart without ever seeming to be smart, interesting and entertaining without ever being mindless: just people talking to each other about things that matter to them; and the direction by Stephen Cone - pulling all of this together so beautifully and so powerfully, while writing AND producing AND acting one of the main roles - is just astounding.
I cannot praise this movie highly enough or recommend it enthusiastically enough. It deserves far more recognition than it will ever get.