Happily Never After
MARCH 31 » 2:45p
EAST COAST PREMIERE
2012, USA, 90 min.
Director: Jamie Heinrich Screenwriter: Jamie Heinrich
Cast: Jason Carrougher, Katherine Bending and Ryan Wichert
Official Selection Vegas Independent Film Festival 2012
Cole Killian is a former athlete who now fancies himself a photographer (and a player). He’s on the lookout for something special to satisfy his bratty 13-year-old daughter on her upcoming birthday. During a chance encounter with an old flame from high school, Cole discovers a child he never knew he had. He attempts to forge a relationship with his “new” son Bo using some dodgy methods, creating a video diary of their interactions. But when Cole becomes attracted to Bo’s new girlfriend, the bounds of family love are truly tested as the unexpected consequences of seeking out a long-lost child come crashing down on Cole, Bo, and everyone else involved in the scheme.
Director Jamie Heinrich’s script, based on his short film Happily Ever After (winner of Best Short at BUFF 2010), abandons the goofy humor that underscored the earlier work for a more dramatic, sobering tone. The character of Cole may be the only familiar thing to fans of the short, but Heinrich and company manage to pull it off, trading in nonsequitur for cringe comedy and turning the caricature of Cole into a believable, if not completely likeable, human being. This dramedy (yes, I hate myself a little bit for using that word)—along with Heinrich’s debut feature, I Like You—announces the arrival of a true rising talent in contemporary independent cinema.
– Kevin Monahan
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