Our Very Own

The familiarity of Our Very Own‘s thin premise is generally offset by the pervadingly easy-going atmosphere, and there’s ultimately little doubt that the film benefits substantially from the almost uniformly superb performances. Set in 1978, the movie follows five small-town friends (including Jason Ritter’s Clancy and Autumn Reeser’s Melora) as they while away their ample time by hanging out with one another and participating in a number of youth-centric activities (eg they toilet paper one of their own houses). It’s only with the imminent return of local celebrity Sondra Locke that the quintet finds something worthwhile to do, as they conspire to put on a show designed to capture the actress’ interest – which will, they hope, encourage her to bring them back to Hollywood. First-time filmmaker Cameron Watson also devotes a fair bit of screentime to the problems of the teens’ parents, with a particular emphasis on the hard-luck escapades of Clancy’s folks (Allison Janney’s Joan and Keith Carradine’s Billy). The aimless, plot-free modus operandi of Watson’s screenplay assures that Our Very Own primarily comes off as an authentic slice-of-life effort, though there’s little doubt that the movie, saddled with an overlong running time, does start to run out of steam as it passes the one-hour mark. The inclusion of several needless elements (eg a scene in which Carradine’s drunk character encounters a mute figure in the middle of the woods) sporadically threatens to overwhelm the effectiveness of the movie’s first two-thirds, yet it’s the strength of the acting that finally assures Our Very Own‘s mild success (and unlike most films of this ilk, one can’t help but ponder the various characters’ future endeavors).

**1/2 out of ****