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Race You to the Bottom (2007)
Runtime: 75 mins
Synopsis: Though both have boyfriends, Maggie and Nathan have been having a secret affair for months. He invites her along on a travel-writing assignment to visit Napa wineries. En route they visit her ex-boyfriend and best girlfriend, now married and settled down to uneven satisfaction levels. Left... Though both have boyfriends, Maggie and Nathan have been having a secret affair for months. He invites her along on a travel-writing assignment to visit Napa wineries. En route they visit her ex-boyfriend and best girlfriend, now married and settled down to uneven satisfaction levels. Left alone with the uber-straight, jockish husband, Nathan scores a conquest sure to have repercussions later on. The visitors then move on to do Ecstasy in San Francisco. As they proceed farther north, the odd discordant notes grow louder. Dissatisfied with her own mate back home, Maggie mulls getting closer to Nathan. But for all his barely sublimated homophobia, bisexual Nathan isn't ready to commit to the other side of the fence. Then again, maybe he just can't commit period. Things rapidly degenerate as Nathan's behavior grows more loutish, and Maggie gets more shrill and accusatory. The trip ends with a seemingly permanent rift that wreaks damage on their relationships in Los Angeles. Yet chance-meeting a year later suggests duo might not be done with each other yet. [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Amber Benson, Cole Williams, Jeremy Lelliott, Danielle Harris, Justin Zachary
Reviews
While the filmmaking shows natural skill, the movie lacks the energy and passion needed to really engage the audience.
I nearly gave up after an incredibly awkward, self-conscious first five minutes, but eventually writer/director Russell Brown finds his groove and sustains it for a long while.
Although more than a little familiar in its road movie-style romantic banter and bickering, the film is easy to take for a number of reasons, including the witty and frequently caustic dialogue.
Brown is never clear enough on how he feels about his own characters.
A wisp of a film, dramatically threadbare, and saddled with a brittle and affected performance by Williams.
While clocking in at a relatively painless 75 minutes, Brown fails to come up with anything so fresh and bold in his approach as to make a single one of those worth watching.
An illuminating glimpse into some of the more challenging complications that contemporary relationships can present.
Interesting, well-acted debut feature from writer-director Russell Brown.
Brown's screenplay and direction, both economical and unshowy, sketch character dynamics in crisp terms that resist the temptation to explain all, beg sympathy or heighten drama for purely histrionic purposes.
You want uncomfortable tales of love and woe, then Race You to the Bottom has what you're looking for.


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