Everyday People (2004)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Jim McKay

Writer (WGA):

Jim McKay (written by)

Release Date:

12 January 2006 (Hungary)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

You can't wash out all the color and keep the flavor.

Plot:

The closing of a local restaurant concerns a number of employees who've dedicated their lives to the eatery. |

Plot Keywords:

Restaurant | Mother Daughter Relationship | Kitchen Scene | Interracial Relationship | Subway Train

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Steve Axelrod	...	Sol
Earl Baker Jr.	...	Benjamin
Bridget Barkan	...	Joleen
David Barroso	...	Customer
Kalimi Baxter	...	Ruby
Ron Ben Israel	...	Walter
Stephanie Berry	...	Angry Black Waiter
Miles Bridgett	...	Joleen's Son
David Brummel	...	Ira's Father
Ron Butler	...	Ron Harding
Kadijah Carlisle	...	Benita
Julia Carothers Hughes	...	Miss Meyers
Reg E. Cathey	...	Akbar
Kenloy Davis	...	Stoop Kid
Erin Dilly	...	Arianna
Thomas Dozol	...	French Waiter
Alex Emanuel	...	East Village Man
Angela Blue Faulk	...	Lynda
Ramon Fernandez	...	Chico
Elizabeth Flax	...	Female Customer
Sein Gay	...	Jumbo Shrimp Bus Boy 1 (as Hussein Gay)
Jordan Gelber	...	Ira
Tom Gilroy	...	Erin's Professor
Craig muMs Grant	...	Ali (as muMs)
Billoah Greene	...	Samel
Eric LaRay Harvey	...	Bartender
Jamie Hector	...	Devon
Stephen Henderson	...	Arthur
Verna O. Hobson	...	Lady with Blue Drink
Polly Humphreys	...	Shirley
Jennifer Jai	...	Waitress
Freddie L. King	...	Subway Doo Wop 1
Mei Hlia Li	...	Subway Erhu Player
Stacie Linardos	...	Angry White Waiter
Iris Little Thomas	...	Erin's Mother (as Iris Little-Thomas)
Lou Martini Jr.	...	Mr. Califano
Warner Miller	...	Beadle
Tommoraw Mortimer	...	Subway Doo Wop 3
Nathan De'Shon Myers	...	Subway Opera Singer
Dante Nero	...	Biker
Jack O'Connell	...	John
Philliph Oden	...	Ty
Darryl Offley	...	Subway Doo Wop 4
Victor Pagan	...	Victor
Garry Pastore	...	V
Jesus A. Del Rosario Jr.	...	Bus Boy
Frantz Saint Louis	...	Frantz (as Frantz St. Louis)
Candice Sanchez-McClaren	...	Mel
Víctor Sierra	...	Jumbo Shrimp Bus Boy 2
Anna Simpson	...	Birthday Waiter
Cate Smit	...	Mom
Omar Aramando Soriano	...	Omar
Sydnee Stewart	...	Erin Persaud
Marc Anthony Thompson	...	Marc
Charles Vickers	...	Subway Doo Wop 2
Donna Vivino	...	Samel's Caseworker
Kristopher Wilder	...	Raymond

Also Known As:

Brooklyn (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

91 min | USA:81 min (Sundance Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-3 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Alphaville Films

Movie Connections:

References Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Soundtrack:

Everybody's Talkin'

There Goes the Neighborhood (and here comes a winner of a movie!)

After seeing Jim McKay's "Girls Town" and "Our Song" (both shot VERY cheaply on video), I was totally unprepared for the beauty of EVERYDAY PEOPLE. It's gorgeously shot and edited and looks like a million bucks. Considering that it's mostly about a depressed Brooklyn neighborhood, this is all the more amazing. Whether this is due to the cinematographer, to McKay's direction, or just--at last--a bigger budget via HBO, I don't know. But congrats to all concerned. The movie itself is as wonderful as anything McKay has yet done. A famous Brooklyn eating hole looks like it's going out of business to make way for gentrification, and we viewers get to meet and spend some time with the owners and waiters, their relatives and friends, and even some of the "gentrifiers." The mix is bracing. Nobody ends up hero or villain, and if the movie never reaches the heights of great tragedy, comedy or romance, it also never overdoes anything. Scenes last only as long as they need to, each performance is real and exact, and by the end I'll bet you'll have chuckled often, (almost) shed a tear or two, and certainly better understood what a changing neighborhood means to a host of different people. As simple as "Everyday People" appears to be, this kind of ensemble of people and social issues is not easy to pull off without undue soapboxing. But McKay, his cast and his crew have done it. (And Billoah Greene, who plays Samel, should be going places, FAST!)