Say Uncle (film)

Last updated
Say Uncle
Say uncle.jpg
Promotional poster
Directed by Peter Paige
Written byPeter Paige
Produced byChristopher Racster
Peter Paige
StarringPeter Paige
Kathy Najimy
Anthony Clark
Melanie Lynskey
Gabrielle Union
Lisa Edelstein
Distributed by TLA Releasing
Release date
  • July 10, 2005 (2005-07-10)(Outfest)
June 23, 2006 (limited)
Running time
90 minutes
LanguageEnglish
Budget$650,000
Box office$5,361 [1]

Say Uncle is a 2005 independent black comedy film. Written and directed by Peter Paige, it stars Paige, Kathy Najimy, Anthony Clark, Gabrielle Union, Lisa Edelstein, and Melanie Lynskey. It was released theatrically in the United States on June 23, 2006.

Contents

Premise

Paul (Peter Paige), a childlike artist, becomes upset when his godson's family moves from Oregon to Japan. He tries to compensate for his feeling of loss with visits to the neighborhood playground. Paul's best friend, Russell (Anthony Clark), tries to warn him what people might think if they see him hanging around their kids, but Paul doesn't quite see it that way. Sure enough, it isn't long before a bigoted local mom, Maggie (Kathy Najimy), launches a crusade against the naïve Paul, with an army of furious parents in tow.

Cast

Production

Casting

Kathy Najimy was the first actor that Paige reached out to. He said of her casting, "I loved her from Sister Act [etc.] but it was her New York theatre work [that] made me know that she would understand the darker undertones of the piece and the resonance that it was meant to have". [2] Referring to the rest of the actors, he said, "When we had the full cast assembled, my best friend looked at me and said, 'You do realize that at one point or another, you have said to me about every single person in this movie, 'I think so-and-so is a genius' ... and when we sat down to [do a read-through], I was overwhelmed. I couldn't believe everyone had shown up to help me make this movie". [2]

Filming

Say Uncle was filmed in Portland, Oregon in the summer of 2004, during a break between the fourth and fifth seasons of Queer as Folk (on which Paige starred). [2] It had a production schedule of 18 days. [2] Paige chose to shoot on Super l6 mm: "I wanted the grain because of the kind of movie it is. It's heightened reality". [2]

Release and reception

After premiering at Outfest on July 10, 2005 and screening at various other festivals that year, the film was distributed by TLA Releasing on a theater-by-theater basis. [3] It opened in Los Angeles on June 23, 2006, followed by New York on June 30, 2006. It was released on DVD in September that same year.

Uncle received a mixed reception, with many critics finding fault with its tone. [4] Writing for The New York Times , Jeannette Catsoulis said, "[the film] may be trying to address gay persecution and social paranoia, but it mostly comes off as a study of arrested development. The movie's most laudable gamble is its refusal to make [the characters] sympathetic, but the moral subtleties are obscured by a one-dimensional script and a protagonist as self-centered and lacking in expression as a fetus. Viewed through Paul's eyes, the complex threads of homophobia are impossible to untangle". [5] In a more positive appraisal, the Los Angeles Times called it "a comedy of the darkly absurd", describing Najimy as "at once hilarious and scary", while saying of Paige, "[he] reveals that he is not only a fearless actor but a skilled and thoughtful [filmmaker]. Say Uncle is a notably risk-taking first feature". [6]

Notes

The New York Times notes that the film's R rating is based on "two boys kissing, one naked-toddler photograph, some naughty words and a lot of bad art", [5] although the MPAA's rating reads simply "Rated R for some language".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christine Taylor</span> American actress (born 1971)

Christine Joan Taylor Stiller is an American actress. She is best known for playing Marcia Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very Brady Sequel, for her roles in The Craft, The Wedding Singer, Zoolander, and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, and for her television roles in Hey Dude, Arrested Development, and Search Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathy Najimy</span> American actress and activist (born 1957)

Kathy Ann Najimy is an American actress and activist. She was first nationally known for her feminist play The Kathy and Mo Show, which she wrote and performed with Mo Gaffney. On film, she is best known for her roles in Soapdish (1991), Sister Act (1992) and its sequel (1993), Hocus Pocus (1993) and its sequel (2022), Hope Floats (1998), The Wedding Planner (2001), Rat Race (2001), WALL-E (2008), Step Up 3D (2010), The Guilt Trip (2012), Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas (2013), A Christmas Melody (2015), Dumplin' (2018), Music (2021), and Single All the Way (2021). On television, she is best known for her portrayal of Olive Massery on the NBC sitcom Veronica's Closet (1997–2000) and for voicing Peggy Hill on the animated television series King of the Hill (1997–2010).

<i>Sister Act</i> 1992 film directed by Emile Ardolino

Sister Act is a 1992 American musical crime comedy film directed by Emile Ardolino and written by Paul Rudnick. It stars Whoopi Goldberg as a lounge singer forced to join a convent after being placed in a witness protection program. It also features Maggie Smith, Kathy Najimy, Wendy Makkena, Mary Wickes, and Harvey Keitel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Paige</span> American actor

Peter Paige is an American actor, director and screenwriter. He is best known for his portrayal of Emmet Honeycutt in the gay drama Queer as Folk. His debut as director and writer was on the film Say Uncle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Edelstein</span> American actress (born 1966)

Lisa Edelstein is an American actress and artist. She is known for playing Dr. Lisa Cuddy on the Fox medical drama series House (2004–2011). Between 2014 and 2018, Edelstein starred as Abby McCarthy in the Bravo series Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melanie Lynskey</span> New Zealand actress (born 1977)

Melanie Jayne Lynskey is a New Zealand actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women and her command of American accents, she works predominantly in independent films and television. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including three Critics' Choice Awards and nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards.

<i>John Tucker Must Die</i> 2006 film by Betty Thomas

John Tucker Must Die is a 2006 teen comedy film directed by Betty Thomas. The film is about a trio of teenage girls who plot to break the heart of school basketball star John Tucker after they learn he has been secretly dating all three and pledging each is "the one". They recruit a shy, unpopular girl in their scheme to publicly humiliate him.

<i>The Alphabet Killer</i> 2008 film by Rob Schmidt

The Alphabet Killer is a 2008 thriller-horror film, loosely based on the Alphabet murders that took place in Rochester, New York between 1971 and 1973. Eliza Dushku stars alongside Cary Elwes, Michael Ironside, Bill Moseley and Timothy Hutton. The film is directed by Rob Schmidt, director of Wrong Turn, also starring Dushku, and written by Tom Malloy, who also acted in a supporting role.

Dana Eskelson is an American television, film, and theatre actress.

<i>Coffee Date</i> 2006 US independent film by Stewart Wade

Coffee Date is a 2006 independent film written and directed by Stewart Wade and released by BrownBag Productions. Originally a short film by Wade, it was expanded into a feature and played at various film festivals.

Back To Bacharach and David is an Off-Broadway revue that featured the songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David in a show created by Steve Gunderson and Kathy Najimy and directed by Najimy, with musical arrangements and orchestrations by Gunderson. The revue comprises the Bacharach/David songs from 1960–1970.

<i>Nevada</i> (1997 film) 1997 American film directed by Gary Tieche

Nevada is a 1997 film starring Amy Brenneman and directed by Gary Tieche.

<i>Forks Over Knives</i> 2011 American film

Forks Over Knives is a 2011 American documentary film which argues that avoiding animal products and Ultra-processed foods, and instead eating a whole-food, plant-based diet, may serve as a form of chronic illness intervention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zack Norman</span> American film producer (1940–2024)

Howard Jerrold Zuker, known professionally as Zack Norman, was an American actor, comedian, film producer, and art collector. Norman is best known for his acting role as the brother of Danny DeVito's character in 20th Century Fox's Romancing the Stone (1984). As an art collector, he sold a Jean-Michel Basquiat piece for a then record-breaking $110.5 million in 2017.

<i>Rainbow Time</i> 2016 American film

Rainbow Time is a 2016 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Linas Phillips. The film stars Phillips, Melanie Lynskey, Timm Sharp, Tobin Bell, Jay Duplass, Lauren Weedman and Artemis Pebdani. Mark Duplass, and Jay Duplass serve as executive producers on the film, through their Duplass Brothers Productions banner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Rothe</span> American actress (born 1987)

Jessica Ann Rothenberg, better known as Jessica Rothe, is an American actress. After appearing in independent films and on stage, her breakthrough came with playing Tree Gelbman in the comedy slasher film Happy Death Day (2017) and its 2019 sequel, which established her as a scream queen.

<i>Are You There God? Its Me, Margaret.</i> (film) 2023 film by Kelly Fremon Craig

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. is a 2023 American coming-of-age comedy drama film written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, based on the 1970 novel of the same name by Judy Blume. The film stars Abby Ryder Fortson as the title character, along with Rachel McAdams, Elle Graham, Benny Safdie, and Kathy Bates.

<i>Hocus Pocus 2</i> 2022 film by Anne Fletcher

Hocus Pocus 2 is a 2022 American fantasy comedy film directed by Anne Fletcher, written by Jen D'Angelo and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is a sequel to the 1993 film Hocus Pocus and the second installment in the Hocus Pocus franchise. The film stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, and Doug Jones reprising their roles, with Sam Richardson, Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo, Tony Hale, and Hannah Waddingham joining the cast in new roles.

<i>Dream Scenario</i> 2023 film by Kristoffer Borgli

Dream Scenario is a 2023 American black comedy fantasy film written and directed by Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli. It is produced by Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen under their Square Peg banner, alongside Nicolas Cage, Jacob Jaffke, and Tyler Campellone. It stars Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula, and Dylan Baker. Cage plays Paul Matthews, a mild-mannered evolutionary biology professor who begins appearing in the dreams of others.

Measure for Measure is a 2020 Australian drama film written by Damian Hill and Paul Ireland, directed by Ireland and starring Hugo Weaving. It is based on the play of the same title by William Shakespeare.

References

  1. ↑ "Say Uncle (2006)". The Numbers . Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Kuhn, Sarah. "Hitting the Playground Running". Backstage . Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  3. ↑ Kay, Jeremy (January 12, 2006). "TLA buys domestic rights to Paige's gay comedy Say Uncle". Screen Daily. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Say Uncle". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  5. 1 2 Catsoulis, Jeannette (June 30, 2006). "In 'Say Uncle,' an Adult With an Unhealthy Attachment to the Playground". The New York Times . Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  6. ↑ Thomas, Kevin (June 23, 2006). "'Say Uncle:' Didn't you see it coming?". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved June 20, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.