Many a lovesick young man has threatened to camp out by a girl's front door, but one guy actually tries it in this alternately sweet and tasteless romantic comedy. Peter (Josh Schaefer) is a good-natured but socially inept young man who is madly in love with Erica (Keri Russell), the sweet and devastatingly sexy girl next door. Peter desperately wants Erica as his girlfriend, even though she already has a boyfriend, the large and humorless Nick (Johnny Green). Eager to prove himself, Peter takes up the advice of Nonno (Buck Kartalian), his batty grandfather, and literally camps out on her front lawn, willing to wait out the entire summer until she gives him a chance to prove that he can be the man of her dreams. Meanwhile, Peter is frequently kept company by his buddy Matt (R.D. Robb), who has learned how to deal with his sexual tensions through the use of fresh fruit, while Peter's dad (Mark Taylor) is convinced that his son has gone nuts and won't allow him back in the house, even for a change of clothes. While it won the Audience Award at the 1997 Slamdance Film Festival, Eight Days a Week didn't receive much commercial exposure until its release on video, after Keri Russell had made a splash on the acclaimed TV series Felicity. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
This amusing little 1997 indie prefigured the sweet-but-gross teen formula of American Pie, but it adds a dose of laconic quirkiness and even a bit of a Rear Window riff. Josh Schaefer embodies the perfect combination of puppy-dog adorability and wistful nerdiness as Peter, the lovestruck protagonist, while R.D. Robb embraces his orgasm-obsessed sidekick character with a knowing humor that's missing from most such outré teen material. Keri Russell brings the exact same qualities to her pert, inscrutable prom queen as she does to her character on the WB's Felicity; whether such winsome self-possession enchants or rankles will depend on the prejudices of the individual viewer. Russell's character, however, is almost incidental; this is a good-natured story of one guy's obsession -- and of the worm's-eye view his perennial campout affords him of his neighborhood's many offbeat inhabitants. As Peter observes the wacky widows, horny housewives, and potentially wife-murdering neighbors who surround him, his own romance suddenly doesn't seem so quixotic. Such simple, suburban truths may seem sophomoric, but Eight Days a Week sketches them out with enough wide-eyed affability that its coming-of-age earnestness ultimately charms. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Darlene Carr - Erica's mother; Catherine Hicks - Ms. Lewis; Buck Kartalian - Nonno; Linda Ljoka - Mother; Biff Manard - The Sad Man; Ernestine Mercer - Crazy Lady; Annie O'Donnell - Sad Man's Wife; Jean Pflieger - Ms. McCoy; Mark L. Taylor - Peter's Father; Joel Cohen - Yard Sale Customer; Jim Pappas - Key Man; Patrick O'Brien - Erica's Father; Marcia Shapiro - Peter's Mother; Johnny Green - Nick; Gabrielle Boni - Erica's Sister; Mandy Matthews - Neighborhood Kid; Van Epperson - Phil; Peter Alexander - Neighborhood Kid; Bill Hollis - Mr. Hatfield; Stephen Cserhalmi - Mister Myas; Vinnie Buffolino - Young Nick; Jonathan Osser - Young Peter; Stephanie Sawyer - Young Erica; Taylor Nix - Robert; Steven Brotman - Bully; Jesse Hays - Ten Year Old Peter; Jane Childerhose - Mrs. Olsen; Mary Helen Sifford - Permit Lady; Robyn Fisch - Biblical Pursuit Lady; David Lind - Mailman; Marcia Knott - Matt's Mom; Andrew Allum - Christian Friend; Gary Barker - Christian Friend; Darryl Battino - Christian Friend; Patrick Bezecka - Christian Friend; Scott Blaco - Christian Friend; Rick Blessing - Christian Friend; Gerry Borts - Christian Friend; Mark Branton - Christian Friend; Matt Burgess - Christian Friend; Curt Willoughby - Christian Friend; Amy Ash - Yard Sale Customer; Lynn Bonaprigo - Yard Sale Customer; Kimberly Capleton - Yard Sale Customer; Robert Churchill - Yard Sale Customer; Stuart Coleman - Yard Sale Customer; Karen Desimone - Yard Sale Customer; Gil Haines - Yard Sale Customer; Angela Hamilton - Yard Sale Customer; Jodi Kasowitz - Yard Sale Customer; Desmond Lee - Yard Sale Customer; Daniel Neryo - Yard Sale Customer; Roslyn Fisch - Yard Sale Customer; Nicole Carr - Neighborhood Kid; Team Schnakenberg - Neighborhood Kid; Coleman Trapp - Neighborhood Kid; Lindsay Buff - Neighborhood Kid; Nicholas Hoyle - Neighborhood Kid; Andrew Benavides - Neighborhood Kid; Eric Herskowitz - Neighborhood Kid; Rachel Ilous - Neighborhood Kid; Kyle Nelson - Neighborhood Kid; Kristie Tyrone - Neighborhood Kid; Peter Casey - Matt's Dad
Credit
Chase Harlan - Art Director, Gerri Daniels - Associate Producer, David Pratt - Associate Producer, Kathy Pratt - Associate Producer, David Weinreb - Boom Operator, Perry Bullington - Casting, Bob MacDonald - Casting, Sybil Mosely - Costume Designer, Andrew Stewart - First Assistant Director, Michael Davis - Director, David Carkhuff - Editor, Dale Rosenbloom - Executive Producer, Gerri Daniels - Location Manager, Robin Sheverlind - Location Manager, Kevin Bassinson - Composer (Music Score), Jonathan McHugh - Musical Direction/Supervision, Julius Robinson - Songwriter, Kelly Campbell - Makeup, Chuck Conner - Production Designer, James Lawrence Spencer - Cinematographer, Martin Cutler - Producer, Gary Preisler - Producer, Michael Davis - Producer, Darryl Patterson - Sound/Sound Designer, Gabriel Kitinski - Sound Editor, Mark Allen - Sound Editor, Eriq Jaffe - Sound Editor, Mike Jonascu - Sound Editor, Chuck Borden - Stunts, Dyanna Lynn - Stunts, Martin Cutler - Unit Production Manager, Gary Preisler - Unit Production Manager, Michael Davis - Screenwriter, Cicero DeMoraes - Second Unit Director Of Photography, Jonathan Lally - Production Assistant, Anne Toole - Production Assistant, Quang Tran - Production Assistant, Kirk Hunter - Sound Effects Editor, John Kohlbrenner - Sound Effects Editor, Paul N.J. Ottosson - Sound Effects Editor, Lisa Hannan - Sound Effects Editor, Wayne Scott Joness - Sound Effects Editor, Debby Van Poucke - Sound Effects Editor, Jeff King - Sound Effects Editor, Adam Baral - First Assistant Camera, Cicero DeMoraes - Gaffer, John Kern - Grip, Michael Segler - Grip, Leslie McAlpine - Key Grip, Diane Evangelista - Post Production Coordinator, Straw Weisman - Post Production Supervisor, Mike Draghi - Re-Recording Mixer, T.A. Moore Jr. - Re-Recording Mixer, Melanie Middien - Script Supervisor, Byron Cohen - Still Photographer, Patrick M. Griffith - Supervising Sound Editor, Jeff Mar - ADR Editor, Michael McCarty - ADR Recordist, Maxim Carl - ADR Recordist, Sara Chameides - Assistant Makeup, Robert Lee - Assistant Sound Editor, Eric Yahraus - Best Boy Electric, Michael Albala - Best Boy Grip, Patricia Thomas - Costumes Assistant, Thomas Richter - Dialogue Editor, Jeff Mar - Dialogue Editor, Chris Longo - Dialogue Editor, Jesse Pomeroy - Dialogue Editor, Ken Poteat - Dialogue Editor, Clint Riffo - Electrician, Vanessa Portillo - Extra Casting, Cynthia Merrill - Foley Artist, Chris Hanawalt - Leadman, Heather Gulko - Scenic Artist, Jackie Rosas - Scenic Artist, Jason Tenzer - Second Assistant Camera, Ken Donham - Set Dresser, Michael McCarty - Foley Recordist, Sidney Cole - Negative Cutter, Tom Anderson - Title Design, Tom Kam - Title Design, Tim Meyer - Carpenter, Doran Shelly - Carpenter
Peter (Joshua Schaefer) is infatuated with his childhood friend and next-door neighbor Erica (Keri Russell). Based on advice from his grandfather, Peter decides to camp on Erica's lawn until she realizes that she loves him. During his summer-long wait, he frequently comments on their neighborhood.
