Jam @ The Newport Beach Film Festival
Review by Jennifer Kaplan
I was lucky enough to attend the screening of Jeffrey Dean Morgan's film
Jam as part of the
Newport Beach Film Festival on April 22nd, 2006. I bought my ticket online knowing nothing about the film other than the fact that Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Gina Torres were in it, and with a cast like that, hey, how bad could it be? ;)
I was not disappointed!
Prior to the screening I did a little reading online and read the basic premise: A group of people are all stuck in a traffic jam together. Well, that explained the title, but I still felt like I didn't really know anything about the movie. I think that was a good thing.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays Dale, divorced father of two young children. His story is typical, he loves his kids and wants to do what is best for them, but much like life detemining what is "best" is difficult. He's made a hard decision and is struggling with it a bit. It's Father's Day, and he's got the kids. He's also got something to tell them...
Jeffrey Dean Morgan gave a fantastic performance, very multi-layered. There is something so real about a character who makes a tough choice and then continues to struggle with it, as opposed to "Hollywood" where once a choice is made either it backfires spectacularly or else your life is all tied in a neat little package with a pretty little bow. And, man oh man, does Jeffrey play the hell out of this!
If you are reading this chances are you are already a fan of Jeffrey's work, if you have the opportunity to see this movie and you are "on the fence," go see it! It's a great film overall, and Jeffrey simply shines in it.
You might want to stop reading now. I've tried to be vague-ish up until this point, but I am going to talk about the movie much more in depth now. I was glad I walked into the theatre not knowing much, with no pre-conceived ideas about the film. You might be too.
Still with me? Good. :)
Fathers and Fatherhood are major themes in the movie. It takes place on Father's Day. Fatherhood comes up often, even in the storyline with the lesbian couple who are about to become parents and are confronted with the prejudice that a baby needs a mother and a father, two mothers just aren't the same.
The car accident involves father and son, Ted and Josh. Boy, is their relationship screwed up! Ted's history as a father isn't the best (to put it mildly!) and although he's now trying to mend things with Josh, the damage is done. Josh is a teenager who seems to have so much anger at his dad specifically and the world around him in general. As the movie unfolds we learn that Ted has found out that he's really sick. He only has a few months to live and it's now-or-never if he wants to mend things with his son... but just wanting to fix things with someone doesn't give you the tools you need to actually do it. Ted doesn't even know how to tell Josh he is sick.
Josh has the teenage/young adult rebellious angst thing going in. A lot. For the first chunk of the movie I just sort of wrote him off as a typical screwed up kid, but then we find out something that puts everything in a new light. Josh knows his dad is dying. He's overheard his mom (I think!) talking about it, so he knows but no one knows that he knows. Follow all that? I only wish the movie was longer so they could have explored what was going on in Josh's head a bit more.
The other car involved in the accident belonged to Lorraine. She's a cellist on her way to a special father's day concert. Her father was also a cellist and this is her way of honoring his memory. She spends most of the movie interacting with Ted and Josh, and practicing her cello.
Rose and Lilac (Gina Torres!) are a lesbian couple who are stuck in the traffic jam caused by the accident. Rose goes in labor and there is no way to get her to a hospital or anyplace really. Lilac finally takes her to a Winnebago that is also stuck in traffic. Curt and Jerry are two criminals inside who don't want to let them in, but the baby is coming fast and they have no choice. The storyline involving these four (and a half!) people is very simple, but it gets us into some really fascinating conversation between the characters. Rose and Lilac are two people any child would be lucky to have as parents. Curt and Jerry are quite opinionated, but they aren't all that bright (they stole an ATM, like the whole thing! and they can't get it open...) By the end of the movie they may have changed their minds about some things. I'm still not entirely sure that I like how this particular storyline resolved, but I'm still thinking about it weeks later so that has to mean something, right?
Gary and Judy are a married yuppie couple who seem very stereotypical at first glance, but as the movie unfolds and we get deeper and deeper in to who they are, they become two of the most interesting characters in the film. Gary wants to be a dad. He really wants to be a dad. He's even gotten a baby doll he forces Judy to hold, trying to play on whatever maternal instinct she may have. At first she just seems kinda bitchy, but there are reasons she doesn't want to have a baby. What starts out looking like two people who don't get along that well turns into a couple in love who have forgotten how to communicate.
Another car has a bride, Amy, on her way to her wedding with bridesmaids Jen and Stephanie. There is a really interesting dynamic between the three friends, who are dealing with a revelation or two. Amy isn't really in love with the guy she is about to marry. She knows this, it's not like she's going through a last minute panic or anything, she's just ready to have kids and thinks he will be a great dad. (Stephanie has a great line at the end of the movie. I'm not going to spoil you for it, but it's an awesome moment!)
Dale is Jeffrey's character, and his two kids are Robert and Brianna. He absolutely loves his kids and wants to be a good dad, but like so many divorced fathers he only sees them on weekends and maybe tries a little to hard to be their friend instead of their dad. An older couple, Mick and Ruby who have already raised their (three?) kids are nearby and they strike up a friendship. Ruby plays with Dale's kids (and eventually Judy's doll) while Dale and Mick talk. Mick points out to Dale that he gets to spend so little time with his kids, why would he be taking them to a movie on father's day, they should be spending time with each other. I really felt that Dale loved his kids more than anything, but he wasn't sure how to be the best dad to them. He's gotten a promotion at work, which means a lot more money, but it comes with a transfer far away. He's already decided to take the job. He tells his kids while they are all waiting around. To Dale the job means money, which means a better life for the kids. That is what he is thinking about, his kids. Money means college funds, camp fees, new clothes, all the stuff that goes with life. His kids, of course, don't understand any of that. All they know is daddy is moving away. He's not sure if he's doing the right thing.
Dale's kids also let it slip that Dale's ex-wife is getting remarried. Dale is the one who left her, and he's not harboring any secret dreams on reuniting, but this sends him into a kind of a tailspin and a lot of stuff comes up that he probably never dealt with. I got the impression that Dale's whole world since the divorce has been his job and his kids, and he never really got back to living his life. His ex-wife obviously had.
Can I just take a moment to say again how brilliant Jeffrey Dean Morgan was in this role? He really was. The role was well written, but even so a lesser actor would have been "eh" or not really expressed the depth that Jeffrey gave to the role. In my opinion he stole the movie, but I'm willing to admit I might be a little biased. ;)
Finally the accident is cleared away and people can be on their way. Some people get back in their cars and go back to their lives, a few hours late but generally unaffected. Other people will never be the same.
My overall impression of the movie is that it was really good, great even, but there were a few things I didn't think were developed enough. The criminals Curt and Jerry? Compared to other characters they seemed very two-dimensional. They were probably just there as a catalyst for the discussions between themselves, Lilac, and Rose, so I guess they served their purpose. There were some things with Amy's friends that I wanted to see more of. I wanted to know more about Mick and Ruby, and their history. I wanted more of what was going on in Josh's head. It goes without saying that I wanted more of Jeffrey and his storyline. :) I just wanted more when it came to a lot of the storylines. When the worst thing you can say about a movie is that you want more of it? Well, my friends... That is a damn fine film!
There was one thing I really enjoyed, but I wasn't sure about at first. You see, all of these people are sort of in the middle of nowhere in that there is no cell service and no place close enough to walk. All they can do is sit and wait, and because this is a movie, examine their lives. The place they were all traveling to, the other end of this rural road, is called "The Point" and often our characters were shown with mileage signs framed behind them very clearly reading "The Point." I was waiting for most of the movie for some uber-cheesy line about "The Point" of life being not the destination, but the journey. To the film's credit it never went there. The audience was left to notice this detail or not all on their own. It was certainly a lesson that was learned by some of the characters, and one still needing to be learned by a few others even at the movie's end. Not all of the story lines were resolved. Most weren't actually, but even those were satisfying. It's a lot like life.
After the screening there was a short Q&A with Writer/Director Craig Serling, DP Jeff Venditti, Gina Torres and Amanda Forman. I was so bummed that Jeffrey Dean Morgan wasn't there. Of course the screening was on his birthday so hopefully he was off doing something celebratory. :) When the actors were asked what drew them to the project they both answered that they loved the script.
This is a movie I absolutely want to see again, and would love to wind up owning someday.
