WORTH A COUPLE O' CLAMS, BUT NOT MUCH MORE.Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic Like an R-rated episode of a "Northern Exposure"-type quirky-character show, "Diggers Diggers, members of a small English religio-economic movement (fl. 1649–50), so called because they attempted to dig (i.e., cultivate) the wastelands. They were an offshoot of the more important group of Puritan extremists known as the Levelers. " serves up slices of life sprinkled with a little too much cute, funny stuff. The setting is the Hamptons vicinity of Long Island in the mid-1970s, before it became an exclusive precinct for the rich. Things were changing for the local community of clam diggers clam dig·gers or clam·dig·gers pl.n. Casual pants in a midcalf length. , though. A big corporation was buying up exclusive rights to the clam beds their families had worked for generations, and financial pressures were forcing the diggers to either give up their independence and go work for the capitalist pigs or consider pursuing different livelihoods. The movie focuses on four youngish pals. The main one, Hunt (Paul Rudd), is a noncommittal sort whose father dies alone at the wheel of his little boat when his son should have been out there with him (he's buried with his fishing waders on). Hunt's sister Gina (Maura Tierney Maura Tierney (born February 3, 1965) is an Emmy-nominated American actress, best known for her roles on television, particularly as a cast member of the 1990s situation comedy NewsRadio and, later, the long-running medical drama ER . ) runs a diner and had been living with the dad since her divorce. Both siblings have a summer fling, he with a girl from the city ("Six Feet Under's" Lauren Ambrose) who encourages his photography hobby and discourages him from visiting her in Manhattan. Hunt does not take this well, but Rudd establishes his low-key charm so effectively that we really can't worry about him too much. The other three buddies aren't defined as much. Frankie, always complaining and played by Ken Marino (who also wrote the script and was one of the film's producers), has a passel of kids and a loving, if worn-out, wife (Sarah Paulson Sarah Paulson (born December 17 ,1974 in Tampa, Florida) is a Golden Globe-nominated American actress. Career Paulson was a series regular on the cult television show American Gothic and the WB series Jack & Jill ). Jack (Ron Eldard) is an inarticulate inarticulate /in·ar·tic·u·late/ (in?ahr-tik´u-lat) 1. not having joints; disjointed. 2. uttered so as to be unintelligible; incapable of articulate speech. ladies' man. Cons (Josh Hamilton Josh Hamilton may refer to:
n. Slang One who habitually smokes marijuana. Noun 1. pothead - someone who smokes marijuana habitually head - a user of (usually soft) drugs; "the office was full of secret heads" . They all speak with pronounced Down East accents. Director Katherine Diekmann persuasively captures the era's culture and mores; pop songs are perfectly apt, men wear bad sideburns side·burns pl.n. Growths of hair down the sides of a man's face in front of the ears, especially when worn with the rest of the beard shaved off. [Alteration of burnsides. , women read "The Hite Report," sound details like that. She also likes to stage conversations on toilets, for some reason. Michael McDonough's shoreline cinematography cinematography: see motion picture photography. cinematography Art and technology of motion-picture photography. It involves the composition of a scene, lighting of the set and actors, choice of cameras, camera angle, and integration of special is gorgeous while avoiding any hint of kitschy tourist art. If only "Diggers' " script were as disciplined. Even at their most troubled, these native Hamptonians are impossibly good, amusing folks. Too likable, in fact, to convince us that their whole, hard way of life is collapsing on them. And too nice, ultimately, to be deep or poignant enough to make us care very much about their fates. Bob Strauss (818) 713-3670 bob.strauss@dailynews.com DIGGERS - Two and one half stars (R: sex, drug use, language, nudity, mild violence) Starring: Paul Rudd, Lauren Ambrose, Maura Tierney, Ron Eldard, Ken Marino, Josh Hamilton, Sarah Paulson. Director: Katherine Dieckmann. Running time: 1 hr. 29 min. Playing: Nuart in West L.A. In a nutshell: Four clam-digging buddies on 1970s Long Island face social and economic changes, act foolishly in response. Observant as a movie can be about characters who aren't very interesting. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Ken Marino, Josh Hamilton, Ron Eldard and Paul Rudd play four friends who bond in the clam beds of 1970s Long Island. |
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