Storyline
A shy small-town Ohio girl who loves movies but dislikes reality, discovers the delightfully bizarre films of Federico Fellini, and sets off on a strange, beautiful journey across Italy to find him.
Writers: Nancy Cartwright, Peter Kjenaas, Maria Bello, Ksenia Solo, Beth Riesgraf, Maria Bello, Ksenia Solo, Beth Riesgraf, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Kim Evans, Nancy Cartwright, Barbara Bouchet, Andrea Osvárt, David O'Donnell, April Martucci, Michael Wiseman, Lorenzo Balducci, Peter Arpesella, Shawn Weston Thacker, Mike Falkow, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Cast: Maria Bello -
Claire
Ksenia Solo -
Lucy
Beth Riesgraf -
Sylvia
Mary Lynn Rajskub -
Kerri
Kim Evans -
Catholic School Girl
Nancy Cartwright -
Cosima
Barbara Bouchet -
Hostess
Andrea Osvárt -
Cabiria
David O'Donnell -
Robert
April Martucci -
Receptionist
Michael Wiseman -
Clive Montgomery
Lorenzo Balducci -
Angelo
Peter Arpesella -
Mario
(voice)
Shawn Weston Thacker -
Punched Boy
Mike Falkow -
Dublonsky
Taglines:
Everyone is Searching for Something
Country: USA
Language: English
Release Date: 3 Jan 2017
Filming Locations: Ohio, USA
Technical Specs
Runtime:
User Review
Author:
Rating: 7/10
USA Film Festival 2017 Greetings again from the darkness. Even In this
age of "helicopter parenting" it's disconcerting to see such flagrant
over-protectiveness as that perpetuated by Maria Bello's character on
her daughter Lucy. For film lovers, it's even more disheartening to see
how the mother uses "happy ending" movies such as It's a Wonderful Life
to create the social bubble that results in 20 year old Lucy having
never been kissed, and having no concept of reality (outside of what
she has seen in movies).
Contrary to what that set-up would have us believe, director Taron
Lexton's film is actually less Coming-of-Age and more 'Welcome to the
Universe', and Lucy's journey of self-discovery is quite enjoyable to
behold. Co-written by Nancy Cartwright and Peter Kjenaas, it's the
'based on a true story' of Ms. Cartwright's own personal journey prior
to her nearly 30 year run as the voice of Bart Simpson.
Lucy (Ksenia Solo, Black Swan) is off on an interview-gone-wrong when
she stumbles into a Fellini film festival. She is immediately entranced
by the obscure imagery and often less-than-happy endings. In fact, she
connects with the films in such a manner that she is inspired to travel
to Italy and meet with the Maestro himself. Ms. Cartwright's real life
motivation stemmed from watching Fellini's La Strada (1954), and she
instantly saw herself in Gelsomina (played by the spirited Giuletta
Masina).
Her travels through Italy are filled with ups and downs, and Lucy
crosses paths with good people and bad. It's her first true life
experience and we are along for the ride. The structure of the story is
such that as Lucy is discovering life, her mother (Bello) is back home
in Ohio slowly losing her battle with cancer while being nursed by her
straight-talking sister (Mary Lynn Rajskub, Chloe from "24"). Such
contrasting elements would fit right in to a Fellini film.
At some point, most movie lovers experience the awakening that occurs
when graduating from pleasant, feel good family movies to more esoteric
and philosophical cinema. Fortunately, this awakening typically occurs
before age 20 and does not require an international trip or dying
mother to allow us to grow as a person. Ms. Cartwright's willingness to
share her story makes for interesting filmmaking and one of the more
unusual coming-of-age (or Welcome to the Universe) twists that we've
seen on screen.
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