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Review of “Running On Empty Dreams”Rosete probably has the hardest job, since he has to make Corey believable and sympathetic as a traditional family man with military values faced with what he sees as a FUBAR situation.
It’s worth noting that his performance works very well — and what could have been a one-dimensional jerk becomes a flawed yet sympathetic guy who just seems to try too hard. A number of flashbacks to his days in the Gulf war do much to set him up well as an honorable, decent guy, despite the fact that his skills as a soldier don’t aid him much in suburban life. Both young actors playing Matt and Tom are quite good, though every other line of theirs seems to be “what’s wrong with mommy?” — it’s simply that kind of movie. The only real sour note performance-wise is Amber Ryan playing Geri, the butch ex-lesbian who tries (far too hard) to steer the leading ladies towards evangelical Christianity. The entire subplot is completely awkward and utterly unnecessary to the story — Running would be a stronger, tighter film without it. Each scene with the character feels forced and weird — and her lines are so cringe-worthy that it’s difficult not to laugh at her wannabe “I’m straight now” shtick.
Also completely bizarre is the baked-looking priest who
gives The music is almost comically awful and off-tone throughout the movie. While the few in-scene songs and the tune playing over the credits are just fine, the composed music sounds as if someone had a little too much fun playing with the strings section in Logic (or worse — GarageBand). It’s so over the top and cheesy that it almost undermines the fantastic performances, and it definitely prompted a few unintentional giggles. The cinematography is excellent for a lower-budget film, with colorful sets and fairly dynamic setups that capture every ounce of the drama. Especially impressive are the wartime flashbacks — which are blown-out and beautiful in a surreal, “war is hell” sort of way. It’s a shame that the aural aspects couldn’t keep up. Thankfully, the core romance works beautifully. The “opposites attract” vibe soon melts into a romance that looks and feels like genuine love. Jane and Sydney play basketball with their boys, they go on picnics and watch old movies — it’s comfortable and often sexy. The actors have wonderful chemistry and the love scenes absolutely light up the screen.
A few clichés rear their heads — yes, there is some post-sex crying and (worse) poetry writing, but the scenes that Jane and Sydney spend together are easily the highlights of the movie. Unfortunately, the film's awkward plot points ruin the fun. The flick gets increasingly dramatic and unpredictable towards the end, and an extremely limp confrontation and yet another appearance of Geri make the last few moments drag on and on. It’s a real shame that the ending credits are a welcome sight — and a discredit to the otherwise appealing 90 minutes that precede the unraveling. The unevenness is difficult to swallow, but Running is still worth considering for all that it does right. Lesbian romances that feel “real” are rare and refreshing — and Jane and Sydney are both so likeable and multi-faceted that it’s impossible not to root for them. One hopes that Osbourne works out the kinks in her writing and directing — there’s real talent here, and it’s easy to imagine her next project succeeding completely. She just needs to make sure to leave the “Geri” characters out next time.
Watch the trailer for Running on Empty Dreams:
Running on Empty Dreams is now available on DVD. |
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News, Reviews & Commentary on Lesbian and Bisexual women in Entertainment and the Media
Saw It, Ending Was Horrid
This was actually the movie that made me realize filmakers keep making lesbian movies with depressing endings. I liked the movie up until the last 10 minutes of it. So disappointing.
"And it's amazing
With the look in your eyes
Like you could save me
But you won't even try"
- Matt Nathanson
I saw it recently and I
I saw it recently and I agree. The ending was terrible and completely unnecessary if you ask me. The rest of the movie was nice.
****SPOILER AHEAD****
Why on earth would she stop taking her pills and what was all about with the possibily of her committing suicide. I don't get it.Hated it!
Seriously! Bad, bad, bad, really bad acting... the story isn't good... and the ending is even worst!
Two hours of my life I'll never get back!
(Ok, I'm in a bad mood right now so I might be overeacting)
@carolsdc
no
you aren't
the movie is exhausting in it's overly pathetic, predictable and very very lesbian dramaturgy. the only thing that kept me ignoring the one-dimensional characters, stiff acting and bad writing was the genuine affection between the two main actresses when they kissed (and no, not much more was going to be seen on screen).
if i really was a closeted married woman (who the polemical question in the end seems to address) it would scare me to death of bitter bulldykes, dramatic dolls and socially disabled soldiers.
yeah
I've seen it. The acting wasn't too great. There were def. some good points in the film but everything just seemed to go wayyy wayyy too fast. I mean, I get only having a certain time for the movie and only so many hours of filming, but I think it should have been spread out more. Like, put more depth to Jane and Sydney's relationship. They did have good chemistry, it again just went way too fast and your like 'What!? what scene did I miss??!' The ending was a bit disappointing. Its left open and not in a good 'happy ending left to your imagination' sort of way.
Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. ~Pablo Picasso
Meh
It sounds likes one of those movies where you should just wait until someone strings all the good parts together on YouTube...
I like those women together, just a shame about the rest of the plot.
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Who doesn't have a blog these days?
eurOut for the latest recaps of your favourite European lesbian storylinesIt was... It
It was... It felt unorganized and the acting was a little on the low side. I felt like the movie was trying to focus on too many things but nothing got attention. It could have been better.
SPOILER:
Suicide or not? And she so did not have to die. I would have liked a lot more if she didn't.
DAMMIT
Heh. Sorry. But trust me,
Watched it like a month ago.
bucket of crap
This film was a bucket of crap to put it bluntly. I think that as a group we are far too forgiving of some of the gay movies kicking about because of the small corner that gay films populate. I call it the "Its all we've got" delusion. And i'm guilty i've watched many a movie or show because of one tiny gay part hoping to see some well written and portrayed lesbian story lines. But usually ending up with squat.
I agree with the two lead actresses having excellent chemistry and other than crapy lines, nothing else between them seemed forced. They sold it to me that they were into each other and not two straight actresses pretending through gritted teeth that the other is brad pitt.
Sydney pissed me off so bad because she actually made me feel sympathy for her husband. Then i remembered the magic of divorce and that made me hate her more for sticking around and torturing him. With him looking like a total pussy for not ending it on the millionth time she yelled or cried at him for doing somthing as evil as trying to hug her. This reaction is in pretty much every scene they shared. Plus how evil is she? He's working extra hard to get her drugs so she can survive while she cheats on him with the neighbour. What is the message here? its ok to cheat if you work out your gay?
I Agree with the music sucking and being really loud and not fitting the emotions in scenes.
But i think the worst of all was the walking, unfortunatly talking butch cliche'. A Bandanna and slicked back mullet, Shit tats and a bad arse cigarette? I mean come on. Thats the kind of crap the world brands us with. I get it ok she is the sad personification of what being gay and religious gets you. You can have an agenda without ramming it in with a jackhammer.
I think its a shame that good acting and solid love scenes were wasted on a film that had true potential if it dropped a few of its storylines and agendas, was better written and had better knowledge of music volume and appropriate positioning.
ok maybe it would have been easier to say same actresses different movie.
Briggs86, you wrote one of the funniest reviews I've ever read!
Briggs86, you should try out to be a writer for afterellen.com!!!
I adored your review because it was sharp, witty, and blunt as hell. I haven't laughed in months while eading afterellen.com copy but you did it for me. Thanks again for the great review!!!!!
Cheers happykt
This was not a good movie.
i hate it too.
3 reasons:
1. the sound effects are really bad
2. the acting is bad.
3. the lines are bad.
just half way through the movie..
Thanks for the info ,,NOT
So, apparently it sucks
You Have Guts
Hopefully you're not paying to see it though, ha. But, maybe one of the only good things about the movie was that the scenery in that desert/mountain was beautiful. But, besides that everything else was bad. It kind of reminded me of the film, 'Maggie and Annie'.
"And it's amazing
With the look in your eyes
Like you could save me
But you won't even try"
- Matt Nathanson
the trailer made me laugh
Didn't see it, but the trailer was working so hard to have you *feel* the intensity that I just got my giggles.
Sorry, sounds bad already.
I just watched it and
I just watched it and yeah, music, completly weird. That Cory guy, just generally annoyng. The ending was depressing but I mean still pretty good.
Megan Prescott as Katie Fitch "I look better in clothes than you."
Yes, you're right, I'm sure Kat would look better without them
haha
i should've read the comments on here b4 i watched it! danielle already stated the music would be awful, but danielle, you've been far to nice with your review! no talent, no good plot, no good acting (when talking i mean :P).
Girls, wait till a best-of or something is up on youtube.
Good lord!
Well I am glad I read the reviews before I wasted my time trying to track this down! LOL It's typical of the film industry though. It's as if the LGBT community is doomed to bad relationships, "trying it" partners that wind up going back to being straight or death.
Music makes the world go around!
DJ Digital Gem
Review
id give it a C-
so i would have actually probably loved this movie if it wasnt for
a. the butch bitch, like seriously? i mean she is basicaly forcing herself to being asexual...haha, what if she was asexual as in bacteria multiply with out a partner type of deal. that would be pure hell, cause then you have multiple im a total lesbian but im dating jesus type of thing going on
b. the music was pretty terrible
c. then the preist thing? i didnt get the point of that part at all.
spoiler alert!
d. as the guys in the david blain street magic parady would say, WHAT THE EFF?!? why would she stop taking her pills im not sure if that would have kept her alove cause i kinda got confused with the whole diagnostic but anyways, she had a son and someone to love, she was on her way to be succesful then everything just fails. then her dying, it seemed rushed, like everything is perfect dandy dooda then BOOM funeral. im not gonna lie im a big baby when it comes to movies, yea i cried a bit dont judge me aha, buti mean if they played it out better i could have flooded my pillow, which is not hard (movies that make me cry more than ellen*love her!* does when a dog is taken away from a kid- the land before time 2 when chomper leaves, air bud the original one, rent, titanic, oh and lets not even stop with bambi man i saw bambi once when i was 5 and i can still remember how much i cried which is why i havent watched it again)
anyways, i think the lead ladies had really good chemistry it looked and felt like they were really falling in love, then the acting on corey's part was also pretty good.you feel bad for him then at times you dont. he reminds me off my friend's dad, to outsiders he is really weird and kinda rude,and he is huge, like buff and tall but i dont think corey was that tall comparing him to everyone else. but during the sex scene between sydney and corey frightened me cause then i imagined my friends parents having sex accidently and thats just something you dont want to see aha.
well i spent almost all of the day trying to find this movie and make it work on my crappy laptop, was it worth it... overall i would say yes. jane and sydneys times together made up for all the awkward and weird bovine fecal matter(yea i watched degrassi, dont judge me aha) that was for some reason put into the script.
so there was my little rant, no sleep does that to me, i think i might play it again while i go to sleep, the sydney and jane moments are pretty cute, and not to mention their sons awww.
=]=]=]
I just watched it
Horrible "film"
I can't even call this a film, really. It was absolutely HORRID! The acting was atrocious and just waaay over the top, especially in the funeral scene. It's only redeeming qualities are the hot love scenes between the female leads.
Basically..
OMG!!! I dont wanna see
OMG!!!
I dont wanna see this!! I heard it was bad and it looks bad acording to the video that you posted! The Music doesnt even make sense
Cover says it all
To me, the dvd cover says it all: cheap and tacky.
I'll wait for the "best of" moments on a music video on youtube, so I cannot hear the dialogs or the original score of the movie.(laughs)
Too bad...
--------
http://rafaeladias.wordpress.com/
This Movie
I wouldn't call this movie a
Horrible score and don't even get me started on..
The score is horrible and don't even get me started on the whole "Let me help you find Jesus" thing which, coming out of the mouth of that stone-butch-dyke-on-a-bike lesbian, doesn't make any sense..at all! Oh and the acting...between the two of them, Sidney and Jane, it was quite ok...but all the other characters, especially the husband...oh snap, shoot me in the head right now!
But, all in all, it's not a complete waste of time.
They have great chemistry together and the first love scene is just adorable.
I'm getting my money back from blockbuster
Cuz seriously, this is some underhanded homophobic bullshit. They tried to make it subtle, but basically the entire point of the movie is "if you're gay, God's gonna get you!" Even the last shot was of the sun making a cross on the horizon. And what the fuck was with the statistics at the end? "18-35% of lesbians in the US were ever married?" and then "what percentage are you?" It doesn't even make any sense! I don't know, but I definately dislike this movie. Maybe we're so used to hearing horrible things about ourselves that we're too forgiving of movies that underhandedly tell us that God wants us to be with men and it would be better to be alone forever than defy God. I'm getting my damn money back.
The chicks were hot, though.
"If a bullet should go through my head let that bullet go through every closet door.” -Harvey Milk
LMAO
I have never laughed so hard at a movie.
><
The only thing that kept me watching this film til the end was the actress playing Jane, Rachel Owen. I thought she was good, seemed natural, plus she's hot :P Sydney just irritated me, way too much over acting on her part. And the music? Oh god the music. I actually started to mute it whenever they played any music, it was awful!! The butch character made me want to throw something at my computer screen, as did the ending. I was like, WTF! I would NOT reccomend this film, unless of course your in need of some humour, then watch it, with volume up loud.
______
I Tweet therefore I am; http://twitter.com/RainbowPleb
I rented this tonight
The price of concealment is far greater than the price of confession~~
not that great...it's okay..
just watched the movie this morning...well, didn't mind the technical stuff...though the religious aspect is not really needed...and it's just sad that like the film "Maggie and Annie"...someone has to die so that the "right thing" will be accomplished...sexuality is fluid..and love will always be love...
LiFe iS sHorT..B w d 1 U LoVE!
I have seen better....
I could go on for days about the hundreds of lesbian movies that were better than this one...but I'm going to say that the chemistry between the two women was the best part of the film. The end of this film left me confused and empty. Don't waste time watching the whole film go on youtube and get the highlights. Unless your writing a blog :)
...
I avoided reading this review because I didn't wanna prejudge. Now that I've seen it... this review is so right on. The Christian lesbian was so awkward. I didn't even get the religion point or wherever that was going. It was confusing, though I had a hard time concentrating on the movie when the blonde chick wasn't on the screen. The music bothered me too... it was so random.
I've definitely seen worse lesbian films, but I probably won't remember the title past this year.
Oh yeah!! Please more Kathleen..
I think this movie was great. Maybe the acting was a little low, as well as we know it was a low budget movie, however, the story itself with a not so 'happy' ending was amazing.
Furthermore, I got in touch with Kathleen Benner (who plays Sydney) and the director and will be interviewing both of them to see what they say.
Everybody has to start at some point and this movie might just be the start of something.
www.the-gaylife.com
HOLY SHIT.
This is seriously the worst movie I have ever seen. I disliked it so greatly that I googled it for an outlet to complain/see what others thought. APPARENTLY I AM NOT ALONE.
Dear Lord. Everyone involved with that movie needs a good talking to -- who was that even made for!? The religious tones were EXTREMELY heavy for a lesbian film..and.. ohmy.. there are just so many things wrong with it. ARGH.
Why was it so long!?
worst.lesbian.film.ever
this film was arguably the worst.lesbian.film.ever.... or the most serious of contenders..
can't believe, but delighted!, to have stumbled upon this review and these comments.. i was certain it wasn't just me.... after i watched the movie, i thought, surely that didn't just happen? i mean, what could these filmmakers have been thinking??? if i wasn't cringing in incredulity at the awfulness of it all, i was belly laughing during too many unintended parts.. seriously, it was a workout... i needed an ibu when all was said and done..
this film is an exercise in why less is more.. if only the makers had focused on the one bright spot, the reason why every lesbian goes to lesbian themed movies -- to see a glimpse of herself, her life, her brand of lovin... these chicks had some chemistry, and while the acting was uneven, the sexual energy between them felt real, not flashy or gimmicky or pornish, but oddly, refreshingly familiar... sweet, even.. imagine that? in the middle of this unmedicated, cinematic schizophrenia that was this movie, a couple of hot, kinda interesting chicks.... why couldn't they just tell a simple story between these two women who meet, acknowledge their attaction and fall in love?
i won't waste my good thumbs rating this one... and because bad lesbi cinema is deserving of bad lesbi song, i give one-half of one cherry chapstick out of a possible five...
WORST MOVIE IVE EVER SEEN
ok so my wife and i rented this movie over the weekend. totally lured in by the cover and the promising plot of a straight married woman falling for a woman. i had such high hopes for this film, but it became abundantly clear within the first 10 minutes that seeing this film through to the end would ultimately be a huge mistake. the acting was terrible (mostly bc of the lines.. not really the actresses.. but i still thought they were subpar) the music was even worse and the plot was so back and forth and choppy it was painful. the characters are terrible and plus i was totally thrown off by the God messages thrown in there. I debated the message of the film and by the end was thinking that the whole film may have been created to lure the lgbt population into this movie to pound them with the love of God and why celibacy is the way to heaven. dont even get me started.
my biggest gripe with this movie is the scene where they get to the lovin. I guess someone forgot to tell them that their kids were still in the other room while this all went down. o and PS if you're at a double sleepover with your kids, and you dont want to get caught bangin it out with your kid's friend's mom, maybe you should put your clothes on after you're done with the fun, and save the poetry for when you're clothed again. i was so anxious that one of the kids would walk in and it would have been some terribly uncomfortable scene. thankfully it wasnt, but i was still cringing at the thought.
seriously a waste of our time. i can barely give credit to the positive points other viewers have tried to make about this film.
lesbian movie FAIL. yet again :o(
*freshie*