April's Shower (2006)

Synopsis: Trish Doolan stars in ARPIL'S SHOWER as Alex, a talented and successful professional chef whose personal life is a wreck. The zany, good-natured comedy takes place at her immaculate house as she throws a wedding shower in honor of April (Maria Cina), Alex's erstwhile best friend and... Trish Doolan stars in ARPIL'S SHOWER as Alex, a talented and successful professional chef whose personal life is a wreck. The zany, good-natured comedy takes place at her immaculate house as she throws a wedding shower in honor of April (Maria Cina), Alex's erstwhile best friend and roommate, who's just one week away from marrying Pauly (Randall Batinkoff). As a disparate group of wildly eccentric friends and family begin to arrive, Alex finds herself struggling to control the party and maintain her composure, since--unbeknownst to all of them--she and April were lovers for five years, and neither one of them has truly recovered from the end of their relationship. Doolan fits her character like a glove--as well she should, since she is the film's writer and director as well as its star. The Queens native has held on to her tough-girl accent, but still radiates vulnerability and a kind of tired decency. Among the other highlights of the enormous cast of characters are her laid-back brother August (the eminently likeable Zack Ward); trendy, looks-obsessed Vicky (Denise Miller, channeling WILL & GRACE's Megan Mullally); gay-best-friend Jake (Joe Tabbanella, a sweet and engaging presence despite the stereotypical nature of his character); April's loving but uptight and very Catholic mother Franny (Molly Cheek); feuding lovers Sophie and Sasha (Arly Jover and the strikingly gorgeous Honey Labrador); and Rocco (Frank Grillo), an affable pizza delivery guy who becomes the first of many unexpected guests to crash the party. There are too many characters in APRIL'S SHOWER for many of them to feel very fleshed out, but that's not the film's focus in any case; Doolan is more concerned with the way that oddballs and outcasts can come together to create loving support systems and makeshift families for each other. [More]