Anyone with an aversion to dialogue-rich comedy dramas should give this movie a wide berth, particularly if pedestrian pacing is a bit of a turn-off. But while Henry Jaglom's film by no means boasts universal appeal, the director handles his own script with such craft and imagination that it oozes a peculiar charm which makes it eminently watchable.

This final get-together attracts friends, family, and pupils of the school, along with a very special guest. Into the rather bizarre, ego-saturated and argumentative gathering steps Hollywood movie star Oona Hart (the gloriously impressive Victoria Foyt), who has just hit the big time with a blockbuster movie. Her arrival sparks a flood of incidents, both comic and serious, as she begins to interact with various members of the family, eagerly on the lookout for her next major role.

Uncertain at first about the wisdom of her decision to stay for the weekend, she soon connects with everyone around her and becomes enmeshed in a complex sequence of problems, hang-ups and personal chaos as events build up to the staging of the annual family outdoor production.
All this is slowly unraveled by Jaglom (a key pioneer of American independent cinema), who lingers on each character and dwells on their respective idiosyncrasies. Switching from intense conversation to offbeat play rehearsal, back to intense conversation, he injects a significant amount of whimsy and humour into the proceedings, mostly through Foyt's character, who has an hilarious habit of imitating various animals in order to get through to her inner self.

But hers is not the only character to steal the limelight. One of the central figures is an acclaimed playwright (Jon Robin Baitz) whose new play is attracting all sorts of attention and as a result nearly everyone (the aging actor, the muscular apprentice, the legendary director, to name but three) wants a piece of him. Special mention must also go to Lindfors, who is magisterial in the last role before her death.

All this intricate character interaction takes time to slot into place, but the viewer's patience is eventually rewarded as it becomes clear exactly how everyone is related or connected to each other and various secrets start tumbling out into the open. Once that happens, Jaglom's script (which he wrote with real-life partner Foyt) clicks imperiously. It's a slow burn, but the observation of theatrical life is sharply sketched, the direction is inspired and the engaging comedy spot-on.

Admittedly you have to be in the mood to watch this bittersweet celebration of actors and acting, family life and the theatre, but to the credit of everyone involved, it's never dull, because there's simply too much to marvel at, both in terms of performance and direction.

There are occasional moments of doom and gloom which pervade some of the film's more lackluster scenes, but these are few and far between and Jaglom ensures that this fascinating insight into the machinations of a melodramatic family is rarely less than compelling.

David Lichtneker