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Lymelife (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:72
Fresh:40
Rotten:32
Average Rating:6.1/10
Consensus: Lymelife features sharp performances, but the story lacks the emotional depth or focus worthy of its talented cast.
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis:
It’s 1979 on Long Island, New York. Change is in the air -- the promise of a better life luring a new immigration from the city to the suburbs. In this world, real estate development is like...
It’s 1979 on Long Island, New York. Change is in the air -- the promise of a better life luring a new immigration from the city to the suburbs. In this world, real estate development is like winning the lottery, and money means success. The rest of the world may sit on a precipice -- the Falkland War looms and before long American hostages will be taken in Iran -- but on Long Island the future is bright, vulnerable only to that which sucks ones soul, much like the contagious Lyme disease ironically found on the picturesque deer that populate the island.
15 year-old Scott Bartlett is at the precipice as well…but he’s unlikely to notice what with his mom duct tapping him up as protection against the dreaded scourge (a disease, she would be quick to note, they don’t have back in Queens) and his dad busy with building the American Dream in the guise of a planned community called “Bartlettown”. Scott does know he is definitely in love with 16 year-old Adrianna next door, but she may or may not have noticed, it’s hard for Scott to read the signs and her family has her a little preoccupied anyway -- her father has the disease and can barely face each new day as her mother now has to head out to work to earn their living by selling new homes in Bartlettown.
When Scott’s brother, Jimmy, returns home for a brief stay before shipping out to the Falkland Islands, Scott is relieved to have a ready champion who can fight his battles, help diffuse their parents fighting, and generally keep an eye out for him. But when even Jimmy has had enough, Scott is forced to look at his world through a different set of lenses.
In a world where money drives men and happiness is delayed until after the success, Scott is about to discover the pedestal he’s built for his idols can barely support the weight of his own youthful innocence, let alone sustain those he places on top. A bright story about the dark side of suburban paradise, Lymelife stars Alec Baldwin, Kieran Culkin, Rory Culkin, Jill Hennessy, Timothy Hutton, Cynthia Nixon and Emma Roberts. Written and Directed by Derick Martini and Steve Martini, Lymelife is directed by Derick Martini. --© Screen Media Films
Starring: Alexander Rae Baldwin, Kieran Culkin, Rory Culkin, Jill Hennessy
Starring: Alexander Rae Baldwin, Kieran Culkin, Rory Culkin, Jill Hennessy, Timothy Hutton, Cynthia Nixon, Emma Roberts
Director: Derick Martini
Director: Derick Martini
Screenwriter: Derick Martini, Steven Martini
Studio: Screen Media
Reviews for Lymelife
...there is only so much they can do covering such familiar territory.
Lymelife doesn't bring much new insight to bear on the topic of the horrors of suburban existence.
The performances are strong. ... But to anyone who saw "The Ice Storm" or "American Beauty" or a dozen other tales of suburban angst, there's nothing here you haven't seen before.
While the performers do what they can with the material, we've seen this premise done too many times, especially recently.
The Martinis are not filmmakers, and I wish they had paid more attention in their Production 101 classes.
[Good acting] can certainly help, and for the most part Lymelife is functionally competent and barely familiar enough to be dull.
Deserves recognition as one of the best independent films released so far in 2009.
The movie's appealing as a rambling actor showcase: As with the better mid-range indies, you enjoy spending time with these people even if a few elements of the movie let you down.
Fueled by great performances, keen observations of human behavior and a streak of dark comedy, Lymelife is a coming-of-age movie with a kick.
Another film that looks back at late seventies' suburbia with a mixture of tenderness and condescension.
The offbeat Lymelife is so clearly leeching off other suburban-dysfunction films that it could have been titled The Lice Storm.
I've seen Lymelife twice, and I liked it better the first time, when it was called The Ice Storm.
Even in its darkest moments there are flashes of warm comedy and gentle farce that lend the story considerable credibility and charm.
As it jogs toward its climax, Lymelife fails to ratchet up the tension by turning the screws of the plot.
Overall the film feels like The Ice Storm or American Beauty on training wheels, but Martini's next efforts could be well worth watching.
The players dazzle, but co-writer-director Martini has attrracted this cast with chewy roles and a sharp metaphor, a disease that tears down the veneer of normality.
The dysfunctional suburban family drama has become so ubiquitous that the genre has lost all impact.
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