MICHELLE FORBES AND JOSEPH MAZELLO IN DEAR SIDEWALK

Tentative romance ends postal career

Gardner (Joseph Mazzello), a 24-year old mailman in Austin Texas on the verge of his 25th birthday, meticulously goes his rounds every day except for daily stopovers to visit Trudy (Lana Dieterich) a feisty and wise-ass retired science teacher. This is where either credibility or the rules of US Post Office delivery begin jointly to be violated. The shock is greater when Gardner starts taking long times off during route to hang out with Paige (Michelle Forbes), a forty-something relocated divorcee with semi-abandoned pretensions to being a sculptor. Paige waffles between worldly-wise and clueless, and it's not quite certain if this is a confused lady or an uneven tone in the writing in Jake Limbert's script.

Gardner gets fired for not delivering mail, but he seems to have overestimated Paige's interest in what he imagines as a romance and she may see merely as a pastime. It's all larky and meant to be on the order of a little Sundance charmer. This little movie does have some cute lines and some of the acting isn't bad, nor can one fault the cinematography: Oelman indeed has years of work experience as a photographer. But things go somewhat astray in the film midway due to some elements that detract from the main storyline. There is some dubious casting (some local) of secondary characters; some scenes simply don't work. The film needs further post-production to correct serious issues in the sound levels. Josh Fadem, an actor with a comedy background who plays Garner's brother Calvin, who did come from out of town (LA), has energy and flair, but it's hard to believe Fadem as a garage mechanic and he doesn't completely convince as Gardner's brother either. So I can't recommend this film, though the filmmaker may be worth following for future efforts.

Not sure how this film is "By the Bay." Jame Oelman lives in LA and has worked for 15 years as a photographer. He has also made a documentary, Learning to See, about his father, Robert Oelman who lives in Colombia, South America, and makes photographs of insects, but this has not been completed yet. He is still raising money for that via Kickstarter. This could be a visually awesome film.

Screened for this review as part of the San Francisco Film Society's Cinema by the Bay Series, presented Sunday, November 24, 9:15 pm, Roxie Theater. No other festival showings or release dates appear to be scheduled so far.

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©Chris Knipp. Blog: http://chrisknipp.blogspot.com/.