Don't know if you noticed but at some point in the last decade Gen X-ers transitioned to adulthood and moved far, far away from the places that they thought stifled them as teenagers. Then they returned, if only for a short visit. And guess what... it turns out that the problem wasn't just with the place. Returning after so much time has past has allowed many Gen X-ers to see the place they grew up as a whole new world, with many things to be gained that, as it turns out, were right under their noses the whole time. So what are Gen X-ers to do? That's right, make a movie about it. "To and From," an indie film by Nate Black and Brandon Goodwin , falls right in line with the new found tradition of other "returning - home - and - finding - yourself/something - you - didn't - expect" films (i.e. "Garden State," "Just Friends," et cetera).
"To and From" centers around Harry (Jeff Houghton) who has returned home to Springfield, Missouri to spend the holidays with his grandfather and his new girlfriend before moving to Antarctica to "study the celestial dome." He studies astrophysics and astronomy, which, in one of my favorite jokes of the film, his grandfather confuses with astrology (which truly is confusing... I had to say them both multiple times over in my head just now so as not to confuse them).
It's tempting to call this film a comedy, as it does provide viewers with a number of laughs, the plot in many ways is set up to facilitate those jokes, and some of the characters are totally off the wall (in a good, Dwight Schrute sort of way (i.e. the grandfather (Robert E. Smith) and Harry 2 (Jeff Jenkins) (yes, there are two characters in this film named Harry)). But to call "To and From" a comedy might just be too easy. There's more to this film than just laughs. The film is most poignant when comedy and tragedy meet (much like "The Office" at its best); when the laughter ends with a sigh and leaves one muttering, "Actually it's kind of sad when you think about it."
Houghton and Sarah Jenkins (who plays Mary, Harry's love interest and family physician) play these moments of tragi-comedy brilliantly. Initially the awkwardness and loneliness created as Harry and Mary are surrounded by a wonderfully absurd array of co-characters is just flat out funny, but, with a shift of the eyes, or a pursing of the lips from Harry or Mary we are somehow able to see our own awkwardness, loneliness and lostness in these characters, much to Houghton and Sarah Jenkins' credit.
It's one thing to be able to make people laugh, but it's a much greater endeavor to get people to examine their own souls at the same time. That is the greatest achievement of "To and From." I apologize for not giving a clearer picture of the plot, but for me the plot was only a vehicle for much larger things and every time I tried to summarize it here (or pass on some of the humorous moments) I realized that I was just bastardizing what this film is really trying to do (if you REALLY want to know the plot go here). I'm not sure how widely this film will be distributed, but if at all possible I would recommend that you get yourself a copy of the DVD (see below) and sit back and let yourself laugh and be moved by this wonderful little indie flick.
You can get the DVD for only $10 (and maybe a buck for shipping (that's less than a CD at Best Buy)) by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
"To and From" Trailer:
A liitle bonus for ya:
check out more of Brandon Goodwin's work here .
