Main Cast: Hope Davis, Pat McNamara, Anne Meara, Parker Posey, Liev Schreiber
Release Year: 1996
Country: US
Run Time: 88 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
The debut from writer/director Greg Mottola, The Daytrippers follows a Long Island family as they make a disastrous journey into New York City. The impetus is a love letter discovered by suburbanite Eliza (Hope Davis) which seemingly incriminates her publisher husband Louis (Stanley Tucci) in an extramarital affair. To solve the mystery, Eliza, her parents (Anne Meara and Pat McNamara), her oddball sister Jo (Parker Posey) and Jo's boyfriend Carl (Liev Schreiber) all pile into the family station wagon in a misbegotten attempt to track Louis down. Beginning as a playful, satiric look at family dynamics, The Daytrippers occasionally loses its way, becoming increasingly dark and venomous as it rushes towards the revelations of its final moments. For all of its flaws, however, it's often an engaging debut. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Review
This is one of those intense, character-driven independent debuts which do well at film festivals and arthouses but usually fail to capture a mass audience. That's too bad, because this one is better than most, despite an imbalance between the funny first half and the black, rage-filled conclusion. Liev Schreiber, Parker Posey, and Anne Meara all turn in first-rate performances, and while some may find the film too talky and bleak, those viewers hardy enough to take the trip will be richly rewarded. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
Georgianne Walken - Casting, Sheila Jaffe - Casting, Campbell Scott - Co-producer, David Heyman - Co-producer, Lawrence S. Kamerman - Co-producer, Barbara Presar - Costume Designer, Brian Lindstrom - First Assistant Director, Greg Mottola - Director, Anne McCabe - Editor, Jonathan Stern - Line Producer, John Inwood - Camera Operator, Bonnie Brinkley - Production Designer, Steven Soderbergh - Producer, Nancy Tenenbaum - Producer, David Powers - Sound/Sound Designer, Greg Mottola - Screenwriter
Eliza (Hope Davis) discovers a love letter that may uncover an affair that her husband (Stanley Tucci) is having, so she decides to go to New York City and confront him. Her family, including her sister, Jo, and her fiancé, Carl, as well as her parents, Jim and Rita, go along for the ride in the family station wagon from Long Island.
The Daytrippers was released on March 5, 1997. The film opened to 52 theaters and grossed $35,988 in its opening weekend. Overall, the film grossed $2,099,677 domestically.[1] The movie review site Rotten Tomatoes currently gives the film a 70% "Fresh" rating.
