Kalamazoo?

1- Low expectations often lead to increased satisfaction... I'll admit that personally I did not expect much from this movie. The fact that it was filmed locally and I knew several people involved with its production provided more than enough incentive to invest the time and money to see the results. However as a middle aged man going into the theater, almost everything I had heard about the film itself would not have led me there. The on-line trailer was pretty awful and will not do a thing to grow the audience. Young women on a high school reunion?...PLEASE; Time capsules?...GIVE ME A BREAK!!; Ghostly grandmothers coming down to earth to look after their granddaughters?...NO WAY!!! But Kalamazoo? turned out to be a surprisingly entertaining picture about three women who return home for their ten year high school reunion and discover a lot about themselves and life in a short weekend. Along the way, they ultimately discover that high school was over ten years ago and they had to let those memories go if they were to get on with their lives. While I couldn't relate to the plots' specifics, the film succeeds with a bigger story that would appeal to a larger public than the young women I anticipated it had been written for. Kalamazoo? has enough going for it to be a sleeper and succeed even outside of its home market in West Michigan, but its marketing needs to reveal that there is more to this picture to give it any chance.

2- First there has to be a story... A good movie needs to have a story and on several levels Kalamazoo? succeeds here. The basic story of the reunion and time capsule, of limited appeal to me, merely provides a vehicle to learn more about the main characters even if it does take most of the movie to get you there. I was surprised at my reaction toward the end of the movie as it all hit home to me that these characters, great long time best friends, really did not know each other all that well. Maybe it is that high school was not the best place to establish life-long friendships. At that age most of us are far to superficial and hardly know ourselves. High school is about the crowd and how we want to be perceived. After learning all of the really important stuff in Kindergarten, it's almost as if the rest of our primary and secondary education worked to suck that knowledge from us. It's not that high school friendships aren't all that important, but that people continue to grow well beyond those years. Becoming a secure adult ultimately demands that acknowledgment.

3- It has to keep moving... To be successful, a movie must keep the audience's attention. Once the premise is revealed it should move along reasonably to a climax and not allow the viewers to get their minds wandering. Kalamazoo? is well paced, in fact, while following the story I frequently found myself forgetting to look into the backgrounds for scenes and people I knew. That is a good thing! This is a short movie. Discounting the 15 minutes of previews at the start and about 10 minutes of out-takes at the end, there is only about 90 minutes to the movie itself, a nice length for this story. Scenes which defined non-central characters, such as the punch bowl scene at the re-union, were not dragged out, making them effective as comic relief and adding to, not detracting from the story line.

Overall I thought the acting in Kalamazoo? is actually pretty good, even if the direction was a little uneven to my way of thinking. The performance in Sheryl's house while searching for the capsule attempted to emulate the Three Stooges when I would have expected something else. But the characters worked well together although their different personalities made me wonder several times whether the three could ever actually have been best friends. Probably the best parts of the leads' performances were the scenes with their parents, which went a long way to define this film and make the story work. I was really less impressed by the grandmothers' roles than the parents'.

On the whole, Kalamazoo? is an entertaining piece, with a subtle message that can stay with you for a little bit after you leave the theater. It would be worth your time to check it out!

'Kalamazoo?' opened in its hometown on April 7 and has registered several "sold out" shows. Coverage in the local media report that audiences are loving this movie. The comedic scenes draw huge laughs while the more dramatic scenes have sparked a few tears. Getting to see a local town on the big screen is pretty cool and references to various businesses showcase the producers' pride in their hometown.

The cast -- including Joanna Clare Scott, Mayim Bailik, Josie Davis and Michael Boatman, spent the weekend mixing and mingling with crowds during a series of public appearances and Q&A sessions.

This film is currently running in Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Holland, Grand Haven and Lowell. Even though the premiere festivities have passed, directors Joanna Clare Scott and Dana E. Kowalski continue to speak locally (4/13 at 6:30 p.m. at Herrick Library, Holland). Dates for the next release cities will be announced soon.

Let me start out be saying that I saw some of the movie being filmed and have a tie to the movie with my car being used in it. That said I am hoping I can be unbiased. The movie gets right to the story with hardly any filler. The actors all did a great job, I have seen so many movies where actors just seem to have a feeling that there time is being wasted and it shows in there performance, This movie did not have any of that. The story was followed through without any forks in the road to get you confused about the plot. The locations of the city and homes looked wonderful. I have to say that with all the good performances that where given Joanna Clair Scott and Josie Davis's really stick with you. In closing this is a fun movie and if you have been to Kalamazoo it will be a real treat for you to see it on the big screen. Ron

I went to see the movie in my hometown of KALAMAZOO. It was great to see a film made in the town where I grew up and live. It was fun to see how many of the places I could recognize. The show I went and saw had a nice surprise after the movie was over. The stars of the movie and the producer showed up for a question and answer session. After that, there was a CD autograph session in the lobby. You could purchase the sound track (made by all local KALAMAZOO musicians) and have them sign it. I was able to get all 5 signatures. They were Michael Boatman, Mayim Bialik (SP?), Josie Davis, Joanna Clare Scott and David O'Malley. It was a great time after a great movie.

The movie addressed fears of people and what they think is expected of themselves from others. It's comedic tone helps us see that the only important appearance we should be concerned with, is showing our happiness with who we are and what we've become. The movie started out a little slow, with a few laughs here and there. However, it picked up steam and got much better toward the middle and end. It was funny, cute, a little sad, and my favorite part, there was a happy ending. It was great to see local town businesses, parks, and city streets filmed in this movie. What a great city...Kalamazoo! And the movie was very enjoyable! I live in Lapeer, and will see it again when it is released on the east side of the state!