Mo ([email protected])
This was what you would expect from one of those straight-to-DVD type movies, nothing too fanciful as far as plot, however the imagery, the set, the film quality, and the scenery were perfect.After watching the trailer I figured that an American producer wanted to make a movie with a famous star so Luke Perry was used and wished to save a lot of costs so they filmed in Germany. I was close, it was a German company wanting to make an "American" looking movie but by using Germany as the location with German actors and then getting Luke Perry from the bargain bin for name recognition. I didn't realize how hard it was to pull off trying to look American, but after watching the movie I see how hard it is.On the one hand, I was amused by the German actors trying to play American cops and a hooker, trying to sound American by using American sayings, but they all had heavy German accents. It was so awful it was funny. I felt bad for the movie's legitimacy, but for some reason it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the film. Then I even noticed it in the brother-sister main characters, albeit incredibly minute, they clearly had better training, but once you catch it, you notice it really strongly. I like how the mailbox said "US Mail" and the cops had the American flag badges on their uniform, but no one had American accents! Phone calls had European dial rings, and even the voicemail lady saying "the mailbox is full" had a hard time trying to hide her German accent. I tried looking for plugs on the walls, to find the European style to outlets, but I was kind of busy trying to watch the movie, too.I watch all Luke Perry movies as he is my fave actor, so this is why I watched it. It was fun B-movie entertainment, so you can't really get let down. Luke's acting was fine, everyone else was just trying too hard to be American they didn't have enough energy after that to be amazing actors, but it was still fine and the story was still told. Also, the little girl's acting and accent was perfect. All in all, I would recommend this movie if you want to see how Germany tries making American movies, it's cute. Plus Luke Perry is a psycho, so that's cool too. I imagine that the producers made the movie, got their tax credits, and aimed to only show it to a German audience to say "Hey look, an American movie with an American actor," so they probably don't expect much from the North American audience. So, I would say their mission was successful. Apparently their business model is a success because they have done the same thing with Corey Feldman and other quasi-known actors, surrounding them with Germans trying to portray Americans. Hey, if it works, good for them.
