Themes: Down on Their Luck, Breakups and Divorces, Alcoholism
Main Cast: David Schwimmer, Janeane Garofalo, Judah Friedlander, Susan Lynch, Dick Cavett
Release Year: 2004
Country: US
Run Time: 83 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A sad sack has to come to term with his own demons after a long run of bad luck in this downbeat comedy drama from writer and director Matt Mulhern. Duane Hopwood (David Schwimmer) lives and works in Atlantic City, where he's a pit boss on the night shift at one of the city's resort hotels, and has a wife, Linda (Janeane Garofalo), and two young daughters, Mary (Ramya Pratt) and Kate (Rachel Covey). Duane also has a drinking problem, and while Linda loves him very much, she's begin to wonder if he's still capable of living up to his responsibilities as a father. The final straw comes when Duane gets arrested for drunk driving while Kate is in the car with him; Linda files for divorce, and the court opts not to give Duane visitation rights. With Duane struggling to hold on to his family, he gets more bad news when he loses his job after he's caught giving money to an argumentative customer to shut him up. With only his friends from work to keep him company -- Anthony (Judah Friedlander), a maintenance man who wants to be a comedian, and Gina (Susan Lynch), a kind-hearted bartender -- Duane realizes he's come to a crossroads where he has to get his life back on track before he loses what little he still has left. Duane Hopwood also features supporting performances from Dick Cavett and Jerry Grayson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
John M. Tyson - Associate Producer, Cindy Tolan - Casting, Andrew Lang - Co-producer, Lynn Falconer - Costume Designer, John M. Tyson - First Assistant Director, Matt Mulhern - Director, Tom McArdle - Editor, Ethan Smith - Line Producer, Michael Rohayton - Composer (Music Score), Ben Conable - Production Designer, Mauricio Rubinstein - Cinematographer, David T. Friendly - Producer, Lemore Syvan - Producer, Marc Turtletaub - Producer, Stu Deutsch - Sound/Sound Designer, T.J. O'Mara - Sound/Sound Designer, 701 Sound - Sound/Sound Designer, Matt Mulhern - Screenwriter, Ira Spiegel - Supervising Sound Editor, Marlena Grzaslewicz - Supervising Sound Editor
Its plot centers on the titular character (Schwimmer), an alcoholic whose life is spiraling downward rapidly after his divorce from Linda (Garofalo).
The movie, writer/director Matt Mulhern's second film, was well-received by critics, named by Roger Ebert as "one of the best movies of 2005." He also said that David Schwimmer gave a "career-transforming performance." IFC did not release the film in New York or Los Angeles, focusing instead on such hotspots as Philadelphia, Tucson and Kansas City. HBO released the DVD in April 2006 and Showtime and The Movie Channel began the cable run in December 2006.
