GROWNUPS
2001

World Premiere
March 2, 2002
Cinequest San Jose Film Festival
USA
English

Probably the most 'Hollywood' of the films I saw at Cinequest this year. John Stamos is the big name in this story of two life-long New Jersey friends who get married and end up living in the very neighborhood they grew up in. Fearing the end of the passionate part of their lives as children begin to enter the picture, they devise a plan to swap wives for one night only. The women are against it, but with the level-headed explanations, as well as flow charts that Stamos prepares, they opt in as well.

It was much better than it could have been. The humor was on the surface, but below was the fact that these type of things always sound better on paper than in practice. Even someone as good-looking as Stamos isn't sure if his wife actually had a better time with his friend than he does with him. The act causes far-reaching effects which I'm glad they showed.

The crowd was biased in favor as much of the crew was on hand to watch. It was enjoyable, but not ground shaking.

An Update:
On Friday May 3, 2002 I received the following e-mail with the subject heading "film review LIES".

"From Mitch Galane

i don't know if michael vox is the webmaster or not, and if he is not, please make sure he gets this e-mail--

michael,

my name is mitch galane. i'm the writer/co-producer of GROWNUPS, which you reviewed at CINEQUEST. i was SHOCKED to read in your review the following line--

'The crowd was biased in favor as much of the crew was on hand to watch.'

now, i must say, i was a little confused by that line, because it was...how do i say it...oh yeah, i know how...A FUCKING LIE.

on our first screening on friday, we had in attendance, let me remember... - my 2 parents, my sister, a childhood friend (who did not work on the film), doug (the director) and i...oh, and about 200 strangers.

on staurday, we had my parents, sister, friend, maybe 7 people who came from college of marin (where i spoke at that week since i went there for 3 years in the late '80's) plus ONE actress and her entourage of 3...plus 250 strangers.

when we were called to screen a third time that sunday because the AUDIENCE FULL OF STRANGERS LOVED OUR FILM, we had noone we knew there--

and at the end of the day, we WON THE AUDIENCE AWARD, BASED ON PEOPLE WE DO DO NOT NOT KNOW liking the movie.

we do not think we re-invented film as we know it. we just set out to make a light entertaining little romantic comedy.

so why is it being written that we stacked the audience. why would you boldface lie? our crew (ALMOST ALL OF WHICH WHO LIVE IN NEW JERSEY AND HAVE NEVER NEVER EVEN BEEN IN CALIFORNIA) would love to know they were out here, especially since they aparently have now seen the film, even though if you ask them, they might be a little confused.

i'm asking a simple question - why are you lying? i'm not threatening you with a slander/libel lawsuit (though i must admit, my lawyer sister who i admit was there and knows who was or was not there at the screenings, says provable libel is an easy win) but i would like to know where you came up with this lie, why you printed it, and what you're ready to do about it. doug finelli has spent 3 years trying to make the best movie he could under the worst of conditions, and for three straight days in san jose in march, audiences dug it, and you say it's because of a non-existant crew being in the audience. are you gonna take the responsibility now in a retraction that you couldn't be bothered with in your original review? i may sound like a dick, but you're the one who wrote the lie.

so do the right thing man. we earned the audience laughter and we earned the audience award. but occarding to your review, based on the lie, we didn't. you know that's not the truth.

mitch galane"

[This entire quote is sic]

Let me start out by saying that I have no way of knowing if this is actually from Mitch Galane who is the writer of GROWNUPS. But the person who wrote this, did so with the venom that only a writer could muster over such an insignificant review.

Let me respond:

MichaelVox is me. I am the only one here. I see films, I put up notes about them. During a film festival, such as Cinequest San Jose, I see four or five films a day. Its all I can do to remember which one is which. I still remember GROWNUPS as an enjoyable and funny film. It wasn't the best thing I saw, and it wasn't even close to the worst. I stand by every word I said above, including the part about 'much of the crew' being on hand.

I was at the Saturday evening screening. I sat in my customary seat in the way way back on a folding chair. I probably sat right next to Galane and Finelli who I think I remember also being in the back against the wall. The place was so full that had the fire marshall been there, he would have shut the place down. People were sitting in the aisles and a few were standing. There was a buzz and excitement. Part of this excitement included pockets of people who either were directly, indirectly, or at least felt like they were part of the production. I include the actress's entourage, the relatives, and any of the people from the College of Marin. By using the word "crew" I meant to say "people who felt connected to the filmmakers or the production". I didn't mean literally the film crew who worked on the movie. For that I apologize for any misunderstanding. The phrase "biased in favor" just means that a large portion of the audience was really ready to enjoy the film before they saw it. And they did enjoy it. They wanted it to succeed. This happens whenever filmmakers are in attendance. You should thank your lucky stars that you've never had to sit directly behind one of the Coppolas and watch a nearly unwatchable film unspool without being able to leave because of a twisted sense of manners. I have done this. When filmmakers are sitting near you, you laugh louder and more often than you would alone with the DVD. Its just human nature.

And no where did I say that this film won the audience award because the ballot box was stuffed or because of some other misrepresentation. At the screening I attended, the crowd laughed loudly and often. You should be extremely proud that they picked GROWNUPS as the Audience Award Winner. Judging from the response, you deserved it. I personally would have picked something else, but my tastes are rarely the same as the majority.

Let me also say that I have never written or produced or directed or starred in any film. I realize the amount of work that goes into making a movie, and I'm pretty sure I'd give up before finishing. You should be proud that you made a film, that was so professional looking, with a good cast.

As for any "provable libel" in my once sentence review, let's be serious.

I'm sorry that you felt that my comments were such a personal affront. Thank you for contacting me. If you have any further comments, I'd like to hear them.

Sincerely,

Michael Cummins.