In spite of some pretty poignant dialogue, Tara Miele's dramedy "The Lake Effect" feels more like a cable channel melodrama than a movie.
The film earned Best Screenplay and Best Ensemble Acting honors this week at the Phoenix Film Festival and gained the admiration of several festival-goers. However, others, including this critic, were rather disappointed in the predictable, slow-moving and occasionally poorly-acted motion picture.
Ross Partridge plays Rob, a middle-aged man who is hoping to enjoy a summer by his lake-side home with his much-younger wife Natalie (Tara Summers). However, when Rob's estranged 18-year-old daughter Celia (Kay Panabaker) shows up on his doorstep with a bun in the oven, those plans implode.
When a doctor orders Celia not to travel, Rob and Natalie are forced to care for the pregnant teenager until she gives birth. Then, Celia's rocker boyfriend Jace (Chase Maser) shows up, Natalie expressed an interest in raising the baby and Rob's true feelings about parenthood come to light, adding fuel to an already frustrating fire.
"The Lake Effect" is so painfully predictable that even the baby's gender can be easily guessed. Well, that might be a bit of a stretch but you get the idea. There is very little that is even remotely original here, as the film succumbs to just about every melodramatic cliche in the book.
Moreover, "The Lake Effect" moves at an extremely slow pace, ultimately leading nowhere whatsoever - a quality that is made even worse by a cringe-worthy lead performance by Partridge. Even Miele's sharp dialogue gets muddled through Partridge's sour acting. Fortunately, the same cannot be said about the rest of the cast.
On the other hand, while Rob's midlife crisis storyline has been done countless times before, Celia's story is notably unique. At the end of the day, "The Lake Effect" is about a young girl who, becoming a young woman, wants to make one last childhood memory. Had Miele focused on that aspect of the story, this would have been a much better motion picture.
The 11th Annual Phoenix Film Festival takes place March 31-April 7 at Harkins Scottsdale 101, 7000 E. Mayo Blvd. Tickets, which range in price from $10 for a single screening to $250 for a VIP package, are currently available on the Phoenix Film Festival Web site and will be also sold throughout the event at the Phoenix Film Festival Welcome Center next to Harkins Scottsdale 101.
Listen to Joseph J. Airdo's “Movie Maverick” segment every Friday morning during “The Daily Blender with Jeffry O'Brien,” 6-9 a.m. weekdays on NBC 1260 AM and 96.1 FM.
Comments