Those Dreams of Celebrity: A DVD Review of "Our Very Own"

The "coming-of-age" story is about as old as movies themselves, I think. You always run across critics and people telling you about various heart-warming "coming-of-age" stories. Going back, at the very least, to "American Graffiti" these are also movies known for having a huge cast of up-and-coming stars and a few already-established stars.

The movie "Our Very Own" is really no different. It has the young stars like Jason Ritter and Autumn Reeser and Hilarie Burton. At the same time it also has older stars like Allison Janney, Keith Carradine and Cheryl Hines.

It is a story that takes place during the late 70s in a small down in the south. The town's biggest star is Sondra Locke, who has just finished making a movie with Clint Eastwood. Every year rumors have been flying that she will return to town in time for the "Walking Horse" festival that the town has every year. The rumor this year is not only will she return for that purpose, but also to help premier her new movie at the local theater.

In that town are the group of outcast friends of Clancy Whitfield (Ritter), Bobbie Chester (Burton), Melora Kendall (Reeser), Ray (Derek Carter), and Glen (Michael McKee). Clancy is the son of Allison Janney and Keith Carradine's characters. He is now a joke in town because his father is a drunk and has lost his job.

Meanwhile, Glen is a homosexual, extremely closeted and with parents who live in denial about what their son is. Bobbie had one date with the town bully who now feels that he owns her. Melora has big dreams of getting out of town and becoming a movie star, just like Sondra Locke.

These five become determined to see and speak to Ms. Locke. Melora has the idea in her head that Locke will see they are kindred spirits and want to whisk her away from this small town and turn her into a movie star. The others go along with her because, well, what else is there to do in this town? Not much except to star at portraits of themselves in the window of a portrait shop in downtown or sit in a parking lot and drink.

Meanwile, Clancy's family is trying hard to stay together. While Carradine's character's brother committed suicide just about a year ago when the alcohol got to him it seems as if Carradine is bent on the same fate. Janney does an amazing job as the mother, trying be sheer force of will to hold the family together and using just her charm to pay the bills that keep coming due. She manages to smile even as a young man shows up at her door to take away her dining room furniture away.

All of the performances are very good here. I found myself actually amused by these people, despite the clichés that kept popping up from time to time. You simply cannot make a film set in the deep south, in a small town, without including the requisite list of nuts. In this movie, a repeated shot of a car with a dog on the roof seems to indicate the nuttiness of the town.

Despite this, the characters are richly drawn and interesting to spend some time with. I actually cared about Clancy's family and hoped that they would find a solution to their problems.

Cheryl Hines is also very good as the woman in charge of the talent show and Janney's best friend. She manages to shine and be memorable in a relatively small role. She is also very attractive, I must say, and she should star in better movies than both this one and "RV."

This is a movie that takes a relatively realistic approach to things, however. In real life the problems of your family and of the world are not wrapped up in ninety minutes. That relative of yours that drinks will be battling alcoholism for the rest of their lives. As such, there are no pat answers in this movie. It is not wrapped up in a pleasant red bow by the time the credits roll.

Still, this movie is worth the effort and, I think, generally enjoyable. How does it stand against all of the other coming-of-age movies? Well, it may not be as memorable as "American Graffiti" or "Stand by Me" but it is much better than other films in this genre.

The performances alone, I think are worth it. I was particularly impressed with Janney and with the young people who play, well, the young people. Each of them shows some spark and talent and I hope to see them again in other things soon.