Just Looking

I have just returned home from the Dallas premiere of this movie. We were lucky enough to have both the director, Jason Alexander and the writer, Marshall Kemp in attendance. They also stuck around for Q&A afterwards. Mr. Alexander said he was attracted to the movie because "it made sense" to him. I think the point is that this story hits home because we all went through the stage of total preoccupation with the curious theory of sex. We knew it was there ... we just couldn't quite get a grip (so to speak) on what it was all about. Lenny, brilliantly played by Ryan Merriman, is on a personal mission to be sex-educated. His "object" of desire is Hedy, a former bra model. Gretchen Mol left me breathless its this role that makes the film click. She will steal your heart, just as she does Lenny's. Other excellent performances come from Peter Onorati as Uncle Phil and veteran actress Patti Lupone as Lenny's widowed mother. Lenny's step-father is a good-hearted, fat butcher played by Rich Licata, who according to Jason Alexander is a real-life personal injury attorney. My tidbit of info involves Gretchen Mol's doctor boyfriend who is played by John Bolger, the Great Nephew of Ray Bolger - the scarecrow in "The Wizard of Oz". Mr. Kemp's tremendously insightful script shows us that Lenny's greatest education comes not from a book, but from realizing that life is made to be lived passionately with others. Sex is fine, but true love and trust are the ultimate goals. I trust this film finds an audience.