Wirey Spindell
With nine days to go before tying the knot, [Eric] Schaeffer's Wirey beats a momentary retreat to the bathroom of his Upper West Side Manhattan apartment. All he wants is some private time, he explains to his lovely fiancee, Tabatha (Callie Thorne), who has made an unwelcome interruption with an offer of a cup of tea. Why the bathroom? she asks. Why not another room, since they have only one bathroom?
Wirey, after an excruciating incident at school, decides at about age 15 (played by Devin Matthews) to live with his teacher-father and stepmother in rural Vermont, which amusingly proves to be meaner than the streets of New York City. The local yokels brutally haze the urbanite Wirey as a "flatlander," and in no time he has retreated into a cornucopia of drugs his father has stashed away. (Wirey is played by Eric Mabius from age 17 until the film jumps ahead to the present, when Schaeffer takes over as Wirey at 36.) By the time he's off to college, Wirey has a drug problem, conducive neither to academic survival nor in coping with the headlong rush of first love with Samantha (Samantha Buck), a ravingly beautiful, aspiring young actress with a fear of being loved.
From All Movie Guide: This little-seen film by Eric Schaeffer has enough extras to keep those interested in the director glued to their DVD players for hours. Not only does Schaeffer star in this romantic comedy about a groom with a sudden case of cold feet, he also delivers a witty running commentary that opens up his psyche, since he relates the film's plot to his own childhood. Also on the commentary track is composer Amanda Kravat, who spends less time discussing her work than asking Schaeffer questions about his life. The 1:85 widescreen transfer looks exceptionally good for a small indie film and the audio is offered in Stereo or 5:1 Surround. Also on the disc are a myriad of extras that include filmographies, production credits, web links, and the theatrical trailer. For such a low-budget film, it's a terrifically rich release on DVD. ~ Arthur Borman, All Movie Guide |
