Standing Still (film)

Standing Still is a 2005 American romantic comedy film directed by Matthew Cole Weiss and starring an ensemble cast including Adam Garcia, Amy Adams, Aaron Stanford, Melissa Sagemiller, Jon Abrahams, Mena Suvari, Colin Hanks and James Van Der Beek. Written by Matthew Perniciaro and Timm Sharp, the film is about a group of lifelong friends who reunite at a wedding and revisit their complicated relationships of the past. The film was Matthew Cole Weiss's feature film debut as a director.[1]

Standing Still
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMatthew Cole Weiss
Produced by
  • Trent Othick
  • Matthew Perniciaro
  • Jeff Rice
Written by
  • Matthew Perniciaro
  • Timm Sharp
Starring
Music byBC Smith
CinematographyRobert Brinkmann
Edited byAndy Blumenthal
Production
company
Insomnia Entertainment
Distributed byFreestyle Releasing
Release date
  • June 17, 2005 (2005-06-17) (US)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,700,000

Plot

The day before the wedding of Elise (Amy Adams) and Michael (Adam Garcia) in Los Angeles, their friends from college gather to attend the bachelor and bachelorette parties and then the ceremony the following day. Rich (Aaron Stanford) and Samantha (Melissa Sagemiller) are the best man and maid of honor, and themselves a couple, although Rich is wary at the idea of marriage, while Samantha is pushing him to consider it, while hiding her pregnancy from him. Sam Malone (Jon Abrahams), nicknamed "Pockets" because he can always find the right item in his pockets (and to mask the fact that he's named similarly to the protagonist from Cheers), is flying in from Thailand, still harboring an unrequited love for neurotic Lana (Mena Suvari) since their college days, when she broke his heart. The group also includes Quentin (Colin Hanks), a spirited film agent, and Simon Black (James Van Der Beek), a self-important movie star who shows up in the company of Franklin Brauner (Roger Avary), director of his next project, described as "a metaphysical western, sort of El Topo meets The Matrix". Jennifer (Lauren German), who comes from London, was Elise's one-time girlfriend in college, is still in love with her and tries to prevent her from marrying Michael. During the day, Michael's estranged father Jonathan (Xander Berkeley) also shows up, hoping in a reconciliation, but is rebuffed.

That night, men and women separate to go to their respective parties. The guys go to Vegas on Simon's private jet, while the girls stay at Elise and Michael's home. Once they've reunited, Quentin stumbles onto Elise's sister Sarah (Marnette Patterson), who came earlier as a surprise, and has sex with her not knowing she's just 17-year-old. Pockets confronts Lana about his hurt feelings, then has a fight with Simon, who's particularly condescending toward him, and ends up in jail after soliciting an undercover cop. Jennifer, who's been brusque with everyone, bonds with Lana, and the two of them find themselves having sex, to Lana's surprise. Michael explains to Rich that marriage is not the "next step to the grave" he thinks it is, then reveals to Elise the truth about his ex-alcoholic father, whom Michael blames for his mother's accidental death in a car crash, while a younger Michael was driving. Elise confesses she's the one who invited him to the wedding, not knowing about their troubled past.

The next morning, Michael goes to his father's motel, reconciles with him and allows him to attend the wedding. Lana agrees to try and be with Jennifer, exploring an entirely new avenue in her life, much to the chagrin of Donovan (Ethan Embry), a weird children's entertainer who self-elected as Lana's last minute date for the wedding. Quentin is shocked to find out Sarah's underage, but they arrange to wait for her to be 18 before going public. And Rich proposes to Samantha, who finally reveals her pregnancy.

Cast

In alphabetical order:

References
  1. Buchanan, Jason. "Standing Still". AllMovie. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
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