Fulvue Drive-In.com
Current Reviews
In Stores Soon
 
In Stores Now
 
DVD Reviews, SACD Reviews Essays Interviews Contact Us Meet the Staff
An Explanation of Our Rating System Search  
Category:    Home > Reviews > Drama > Comedy > Children > Rounding First

Rounding First

 

Picture: C     Sound: C+     Extras: C     Film: C-

 

 

I love independent productions, especially when they go out of their way to shoot on film and get something going.  Jim Fleigner’s Rounding First (2005) is set in 1980 and centers on three friends who are pre-teen boys and are just trying to enjoy life.  Of course, things get complicated off the bat when one of the boys is dreaming of his older brother begin shot to death after a surprise reunion.

 

It is interesting to watch any film where kids could still enjoy their youth before a new crudeness and increasingly endless technical options in home entertainment and associated technologies started crowding out imagination and peace of mind.  However, while the three young actors (Matt Borish, Soren Fulton and Sam Semenza) give usually good performances, the adults are not as well directed and then Fleigner’s screenplay has all kinds of issues that strain suspension of disbelief by the middle and collapse soon after.

 

Suddenly, there is real gunfire, robberies, abductions, family violence, kids acting dumber than they should and even one piece of sex slang that was not as popular in 1980 shows up.  Shot in Allentown, Pennsylvania, immortalized in the hit Billy Joel song (not featured here, since the song was made a few years later and the town was only beginning to be hard hit) a few years later, it makes the city and surrounds areas look good and that keep the film from being a bomb.  However, most of this implodes into unbelievability that you have to see to believe.

 

The letterboxed 1.85 X 1 image was shot on 16mm film, maybe Super 16mm, by cinematographer Bradley Traver and it has decent color.  However, they could not afford the best transfer for this indie release and the detail limits are unfortunate.  In real life, this would be even more impressive on film or in HD.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is simple stereo and has no surrounds, but is not a bad recording.

 

Extras include director’s commentary, stills, press interviews, behind the scenes featurette and three deleted scenes.  That is even more interesting than the film, which was an ambitious project that got made, even if it did not ultimately work or missed some vital details about growing up in 1980.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


Marketplace


 
 Copyright © MMIII through MMX fulvuedrive-in.com