Warm and wonderful. A film that endears with laughter and tears. As a reviewer there are many criteria with which to critique a film, but ultimately, the final decider is how it makes you feel. For instance a film that literally keeps my mouth in the shape of a smile for the duration -- now that’s a good film. This picture kept a tear in the corner of my eye even while tickling me with its humor. Heart-felt endearment and big belly laughs -- where else can you find those two fortunes in the same two hours?

This is a rich script that explores a young man’s internal struggle to come into his own. It’s his plight to rise up over the looming weight of his father’s death at a crucial time in his growing up. His Minneapolis based group of friends are brought to life with an authenticity not usually found in the average “movie buddy” gang. Each friend is written well and acted well. They’ll feel like your friends. Juliette Lewis is especially sparkling as the woman who won’t settle for settling.

As for the “needs improvement” department: While Joshua is charismatic and likeable for the most part, there are still some scenes where he misses the mark. Additionally, The first few scenes fall short of the overall picture’s flow. Upon seeing them, I braced myself for a poor production -- happily I was mislead. After those two scenes, the picture strongly emotionally engaged me. There is not a dull spot or rough scene from then on. Any imperfections in acting or script are small, easily forgivable and smoothed because of the momentum of the direction. That said, I could have easily done without the very last scene. (I so wanted to re-write that scene.)

All in all, I really liked this movie. Its big warm heart shines strong through the celluloid. It’ll bring a tear to your eye, a chuckle to your belly, and good circulation to your day.

I asked debut director James Burke how he felt about heading up this production. He said, “I loved it, I had the time of my life.”

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