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Good movie but grossly overrated

Absolutely the worst movie.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

A rebellious young man from an affluent Connecticut family ends up in the Marines after a DUI car crash that cripples a priest. On leave, he meets a mentally disturbed young woman and falls instantly in love. Then he heads off for Beirut. I'm not giving away any more of the plot. This is an actor's movie, as the plot is practically nonexistent and what there is of it is stolen from about a dozen other movies. Jon Tucker plays the Marine and Rachel L. Cook is the girl of his dreams, as long as she's on Thorazine. Tucker is terrific, and Cook is, well, Cook. The radiant Agnes Bruckner plays their mutual friend, and tries to make the Marine understand that he cannot cure schizophrenia through love alone. Set back in time, when less was known about diseases like schizophrenia. Lots of great period music, and many familiar faces in the adult roles, like Val Kilmer as the drill sergeant, Joe Montegna as the Marine's dad, Ed Begleyt Jr. as the priest and Penny Marshall as the head nurse. Filmed in Connecticut, New York,, D.C. and the Carolinas. Worth a watch for the high level of acting. Just ignore the paper-thin, derivative plot.

After a disastrous and very short run theatrical release, "Stateside" has been playing regularly on cable for over a year. Playing regularly is somewhat of an understatement as those with a digital cable package can pretty much find it on some channel any day and anytime. Fortunately the film is ideal for piecemeal viewing (watching a scene here and a scene there- not necessarily in sequence until you realize you have seen the whole thing) because it is nicely written and is actually more coherent and entertaining when viewed in little snippets. This is a nice way of saying the film lacks unity and that the whole is less than the sum of its parts. But the parts themselves are well worth viewing.What you have here is an unorganized mix of disparate elements, each typically used by themselves to carry a movie. Start with the standard Freddie Bartholomew (Captains Courageous", "Lord Jeff" etc.) rich kid from a neglectful home, add a bit of reckless prep school teen drinking which injures a Priest ("Cruel Intentions"), plus a boot camp coming of age story ("Full Metal Jacket"), for your love interest insert a female rock star and actress with mental problems ("Francis" and "Girl Interrupted"), and then a return from the war as a disabled veteran ("The Best Years of Our Lives"). Although "Stateside" doesn't work as a whole package and sets the all-time record for credibility problems there is still a lot of entertaining stuff here. Jonathan Tucker is appealing in the lead role and actually brings some credibility to a character going through enough life changes for ten movies. Rachel Leigh Cook basically does her Ruthie character from "The Big Empty", who I suspect is pretty much her real life self. Her Dori character is supposed to suffer from schizophrenia, but if you don't know what that is going into the film, you won't understand it any better after viewing. Apparently the writer thinks anyone who is irreverent, impulsive, and moody must be schizo (then again maybe they are). But since Dori's psychological problems are irrelevant to the plot this doesn't really get in the way of the basic story. Val Kilmer does a good impression of a R. Lee Ermy drill sergeant. Ermy himself has gotten too old for these parts but this allows the director to show a nice human side rather than a simple caricature. Although the lyrics for "Scotty Doesn't Know kept running through my head each time he was featured.The most compelling performance is by Agnes Bruckner, playing the best-named character this decade, Sue "of the Dubervilles" Dubois. Bruckner's scenes sparkle and you rejoice every time she appears. Bottom line, virtually everyone will find something to like somewhere inside "Stateside". It gives you basic training, prep school, girl rockers, mental cases, romance, DWI, hospitals, sex, mansions, and Agnes Bruckner.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Having shared many conversations with Reverge Anselmo, I found him to be the honorable person portrayed in this wonderful film based on a time in his life. Both he and his film deserve high praise. With "Stateside" R. Anselmo brings the audience an intimate story with the ring of universal truth. Jonathan Tucker captures what I would imagine the young Anselmo to be, a young man of honor who grew up to be an honorable adult. I look forward to seeing future films from this talented writer/director, who presents glimpses of his interior with each project and who will meet with continued success telling stories that resonate with audiences.

This movie was in and out of Atlanta theaters in one week-what a shame! It doesn't deserve the short run and bad reviews. All I can say is, if you like romantic movies, try this one on DVD. Stateside has the kind of sweet story that the critics usually hate. It's refreshingly different from most romances. It avoids the typical formula. You know the one, where the girl and guy meet cute, fall in love during a musical interlude, break up, and get back together at the end, typically with the guy racing to the airport to catch the girl at the last minute before she boards her plane. Stateside reminded me of movies that I saw back in the sixties, like The Graduate. Of course, it isn't as good as The Graduate, but it has that kind of off-beat quality. Some of the negative reviews focused on minor issues such as the slow start and continuity problems. Others complained that the dialog was too poetic, but to me that was a plus not a minus. Still others pointed out how unrealistic this kind romance would be in the real world. But haven't these people ever heard of "willing suspension of disbelief?" Besides, countless romantic stories have derived their drama from the fact that the guy and girl are so different from each other. And unlike most 'opposites attract' movies, Stateside doesn't shy away from showing how difficult it would be for these two to have any kind of long-term relationship.These critics apparently missed the point of the movie. It is about a bittersweet romance that would never have happened if not for Dori's mental illness. Both Mark and Dori gave up something important in order to get something they desperately wanted. If Dori had not been mentally ill, she would have married some rock star or movie star. She had to give up that dream because now she is lucky to get any guy, much less a nice guy like Mark. Mark had to give up a lot, too. Before meeting Dori, he probably expected to fall in love with an average but mentally stable girl. He gave up that prospect in order to do something he would have previously thought impossible-have a relationship with a real pin-up girl.Jonathan Tucker and Rachel Leigh Cook are outstanding as Mark and Dori, especially Cook. She plays such a sweet, innocent and guileless beauty that you have no trouble believing that Tucker's character could fall in love with her despite her mental illness. Cook strips away the veneer of civility and gamesmanship that we typically see in Hollywood romances. What she reveals is a very likable character.By the way, the story is based on the director's own life. He was a rich kid who fell in love with a mentally ill actress. He did join the marines and was sent to Lebanon.Stateside won't win any academy awards. It has its flaws, but it is an enjoyable movie with fine acting and appealing characters. I give it 7.5 out of 10.