Escanaba in Da Moonlight
by Jeff Daniels
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DVD details
Actor: Harve Presnell, Jeff Daniels, Joey Albright, Randall Godwin, Wayne David ParkerDirector: Jeff Daniels
Brand: Monarch
Writer: Jeff Daniels
Writer: Guy Sanville
Cinematographer: Richard Brauer
Editor: Robert L. Tomlinson
Producer: Bob Brown
Producer: Tom Spiroff
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 91 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-10-15
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Monarch Video
DVD Reviews of Escanaba in Da Moonlight
DVD Review: A buckless Jeff Daniels goes hunting with family and friends in this Yooper comedy
Summary: 4 Stars
I saw Jeff Daniels in concert over at the Big Tent Chautauqua next door in Wisconsin and in between singing his songs and playing the guitar he talked about having made a movie about hunting up on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. There are not a lot of movies about the U.P. ("Anatomy of a Murder" comes to mind), so I decided to track down the film and check it out. What I found was "Escanaba in da Moonlight," which is based on a play that Daniel wrote for the Purple Rose Theater in Chelsea, Michigan. Guy Sanville directed the play and helped come up with the story, but here Daniels does the screenplay, handles the directing chores, and plays the main character as well. That would be Rueben Soady, who is the shame of both the Soady family and the town of Escanaba because he has never shot a buck. That means Reuben in "buckless" (not to mention being called "Bambi's best friend), and this little 2001 film is about his attempt to do something to rectify the situation.
So, basically, if are not into hunting or tall tales told by people who hunt, then you should probably pass on this movie. The exceptions would be if you are a "Yooper" or a fan of Jeff Daniels, although I suppose if you liked "Northern Exposure" this one might appeal to you somewhat. The story is set back in the fall of 1989, when Rueben had made it 43 years "widdout baggin' a buck" as they like to say up there and Deer Season had come around again. Fortunately Rueben has on his side his wife, Wolf Moon Dance (Kimberly Norris Guerrero), who assures him that this will be his year and has followed the Ojibwe traditions in preparing him for the hunt. Reuben's father Albert (Harve Presnell of "Fargo") serves as narrator when the film demands it, while Reuben's dopey brother Remnar (Joey Albright) chortles about Deer Season as being the equivalent of "Christmas" with guns. Also joining them at the cabin is Jimmer Negamanee (Wayne David Parker), who was once abducted by aliens, and Ranger Bob (Randall Godwin) of the DNR, who stops by as well. Now all Reuben has to do is not let his father and brother, the DNR, the space aliens, God, or the strange creature making noise out there in the woods stand in the way.
I am surprised my brother-in-law Pete is not in this movie, because most of the people in the film sound like Pete does when he launches into one of his stories, although they tend to be more about Scandinavians than about hunting as a general rule. "Escanaba in da Moonlight" is a nice little comedy without pretensions and an interesting use of a moose testicle. I was actually fooled by it because I got to thinking that what was happening was really an elaborate practical joke constructed by Reuben to get back at his family, but it turns out I was on the wrong track, which is not what you want to be doing out in the woods with people carrying loaded guns. My only real complaint is that while there is a documentary about the making of the film entitled "A Picture From Home: The Journey Through 'Escanaba in da Moonlight," you will not find that here but rather on a separate DVD. So if you really love the film, Jeff Daniels, and/or happen to live in Escanaba, you would be motivated to track that down, otherwise your experience will end here with the movie itself.
Description of Escanaba in Da Moonlight
Its the day before the 1989 hunting season opens. For generations the men of the soady family have trekked to the same ramshackle deer camp north of escanaba in michigans upper peninsula to drink cause a little bit of trouble and bag bucks. Studio: Monarch Video Assoc. Release Date: 08/30/2005 Starring: Jeff Daniels Kimberly Norris Guerrero Run time: 92 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Jeff DanielsBestsellers in DVD
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