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Harvey Pekar is file clerk at the local VA hospital. His interactions with his co-workers offer some relief from the monotony, and their discussions encompass everything from music to the decline of American culture to new flavors of jellybeans and life itself. At home, Harvey fills his days with re …ading, writing and listening to jazz. His apartment is filled with thousands of books and LPs, and he regularly scours Cleveland's thrift stores and garage sales for more, savoring the rare joy of a 25-cent find. It is at one of these junk sales that Harvey meets Robert Crumb, a greeting card artist and music enthusiast. When, years later, Crumb finds international success for his underground comics, the idea that comic books can be a valid art form for adults inspires Harvey to write his own brand of comic book. An admirer of naturalist writers like Theodore Dreiser, Harvey makes his American Splendor a truthful, unsentimental record of his working-class life, a warts-and-all self portrait. First published in 1976, the comic earns Harvey cult fame throughout the 1980s and eventually leads him to the sardonic Joyce Barber, a partner in a Delaware comic book store who end ups being Harvey's true soul mate as they experience the bizarre byproducts of Harvey's cult celebrity stature. (Read More)
Subgenre: | based on autobiographysuperhero |
Themes: | obsessive compulsive disorderautismwritingadoptionillnesscelebritydysfunctional familycancerdepressionparanoiaobsessionlonelinessdivorceangerprison …moneymarriagelovefriendship (See All) |
Mood: | breaking the fourth wall |
Locations: | v.a. hospitalschool busairportairplanerestaurantnew york cityhospital |
Characters: | low self esteemself referentialamerican dreamgrandmother grandson relationshipartiststudentteacherboydoctorfriendfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Period: | 1950s1960s1970s1980s |
Story: | college studentrecord collectortoledo ohiocleveland ohioretirement partyhalloween costumetelephone callveterans hospitalreference to the little mermaidtalk show in plotdelusion of grandeurgreen roomwhite castlevocal cordsfood allergy …reference to david lettermanlentilvow of silencetalking to mirrorstoicstick figuremovie reality crossoverlentthrift storelaryngitisanemialymphomagarage salejellybeangreeting cardcurmudgeoncoupondark horse comicsvasectomyreference to mark twainstoicismcomic book shopcomic book artinternal monologuescratchingmegalomaniahair lossplay within a filmtelevision studioloud shirtcynicreference to marlon brandophdillustratorasperger's syndromeblue collarrecitalbook signingcult figurebohemianluggagereference to batmanchemotherapyreference to supermancartoonistdonutadopted daughterclerkneuroticeating disordercollectorpsychoanalysisbased on graphic novelhamburgertheatre productionbakerymtvjazz musiclosertrick or treatingbitternessohioyellingholding handsvegetarianice skatingtheatre audienceco workeranimated sequencecynicismretirementpart animationrailway stationguitaristlistening to musiccomic booktape recorderrecordingfamecakesupermarketundergroundnerdrecord playergraffiticlassreadingchampagnehotel roomold womannuntoiletdinerbased on comic bookhalloweentelephonecollegebathroomcaferock musicvomitinglettercatwatching tvcomputerunderwearvoice over narrationshowerf ratedfightinterviewkiss (See All) |
In 1986, In Brooklyn, New York, the dysfunctional family of pseudo intellectuals composed by the university professor Bernard and the prominent writer Joan split. Bernard is a selfish, cheap and jealous decadent writer that rationalizes every attitude in his family and life and does not accept "phil …istines" - people that do not read books or watch movies, while the unfaithful Joan is growing as a writer and has no problems with "philistines". Their sons, the teenager Walt and the boy Frank, feel the separation and take side: Walt stays with Bernard, and Frank with Joan, and both are affected with abnormal behaviors. Frank drinks booze and smears with sperm the books in the library and a locker in the dress room of his school. The messed-up and insecure Walt uses Roger Water's song "Hey You" in a festival as if it was of his own, and breaks up with his girlfriend Sophie. Meanwhile Joan has an affair with Frank's tennis teacher Ivan and Bernard with his student Lili. (Read More)
Themes: | dysfunctional familyobsessiondivorcemoneymarriagefriendshiplove |
Locations: | restaurantnew york cityhospital |
Characters: | studentteacherboydoctorfriendhusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Period: | 1980s |
Story: | telephone callholding handstheatre audienceguitaristlistening to musicrecordingrecord playerclassreadingtoiletbathroomcafelettercatwatching tv …underwearshowerkiss (See All) |
The story of John Lennon's childhood and teenage years from 1944 to 1960, his relationship with his aunt Mimi and his mother Julia -the two dominant women in the first part of his life-, his first meeting with Paul McCartney and George Harrison, their friendship, their love for music and the birth o …f The Beatles. (Read More)
Themes: | depressionangermoneyfriendshiplove |
Locations: | restaurant |
Characters: | studentteacherboyfriendhusband wife relationship |
Period: | 1950s1960s |
Story: | telephone calljazz musictheatre audienceguitaristlistening to musictape recorderrecordingrecord playerreadingtelephonecollegecaferock musicletterunderwear …f ratedkiss (See All) |
Inspired by a true story, Al Pacino stars as aging 1970s rocker Danny Collins, who can't give up his hard-living ways. But when his manager (Christopher Plummer) uncovers a 40 year-old undelivered letter written to him by John Lennon, he decides to change course and embarks on a heartfelt journey to … rediscover his family, find true love and begin a second act. (Read More)
Themes: | cancerangerlove |
Locations: | airplanenew york city |
Characters: | doctorfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationship |
Period: | 1970s |
Story: | college studenttelephone calltape recorderrecordingrecord playerhotel roomtelephoneletterwatching tvunderwearinterviewkiss |
The daughter of a brilliant but mentally disturbed mathematician (recently deceased) tries to come to grips with her possible inheritance: his insanity. Complicating matters are one of her father's ex-students who wants to search through his papers and her estranged sister who shows up to help settl …e his affairs. (Read More)
Themes: | writingillnessparanoiafriendshiplove |
Locations: | airportnew york city |
Characters: | studentteacherfriendfather daughter relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | college studenttelephone callphdnerdclassreadingchampagnecollegewatching tvf ratedkiss |
William Miller is a 15-year-old kid hired by Rolling Stone magazine to tour with and write about Stillwater, an up and coming rock band. This wonderfully witty coming-of-age film follows William as he falls face first to confront life, love, and lingo.
Themes: | angermoneyfriendshiplove |
Locations: | airplanenew york city |
Characters: | teacherboyfriendfamily relationships |
Period: | 1970s |
Story: | cleveland ohiotelephone callguitaristlistening to musicrecordingfamerecord playerreadinghotel roomtelephonebathroomrock musicvomitingwatching tvunderwear …interviewkiss (See All) |
It's 2003. Thirty-eight-year-old graphic artist Oliver Fields has just lost his father Hal Fields to cancer, after Oliver's mother Georgia Fields passed away five years earlier. Oliver is naturally a sullen man due to his growing up relationships with his parents (his mother who had a unique view on … life) and watching his parents' cordial but somewhat distant relationship with each other, but is more so now because of his personal family losses. Oliver embarks on a relationship with Anna, a French actress, hoping that his re-energized relationship with Hal following Georgia's death, and Hal's new outlook on life during that time, will show Oliver how to act in a loving relationship. After Georgia's death, Hal came out of the closet and began to live with a joie de vivre that did not exist before, which included an open relationship with a much younger man named Andy. Oliver's relationship with Anna has other obstacles, including Anna's own vagabond lifestyle and Oliver needing to take care of who was originally Hal's very needy Jack Russell terrier, Arthur. (Read More)
Themes: | illnesscancerdepressionlonelinessmarriagefriendship |
Locations: | new york cityhospital |
Characters: | artistboydoctorfriendfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Period: | 1950s |
Story: | halloween costumetelephone calllaryngitisholding handsrecordingrecord playergraffitireadinghotel roomhalloweenbathroomcomputerunderwearvoice over narrationkiss |
Two sisters, plus a dead mother, a remarried father, and a hostile step-mother. The sisters, each in her way, have perfected the art of losing. The elder, Rose, is an attorney, responsible, lonely, with a closet full of shoes. The younger is Maggie, beautiful, selfish, and irresponsible. Her drunken … behavior gets her tossed by her step-mother from her dad's house; worse behavior gets her tossed from Rose's apartment. Then, while searching in her father's desk for money to filch, Maggie finds an address; the past and the future open up to her and, with any luck, may open to her sister as well. (Read More)
Themes: | dysfunctional familycancerlonelinessmoneymarriagefriendship |
Locations: | restaurant |
Characters: | teacherdoctorfriendfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | telephone callgreeting cardmtvco workersupermarketreadingold womantoiletdinercafevomitingletterwatching tvcomputerunderwear …voice over narrationf ratedkiss (See All) |
In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Statrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family of a long dream being fulfilled of the hated Shah's defeat in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However as Marji grows up, she witnesses first hand how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamental …ists, has become a repressive tyranny on its own. With Marji dangerously refusing to remain silent at this injustice, her parents send her abroad to Vienna to study for a better life. However, this change proves an equally difficult trial with the young woman finding herself in a different culture loaded with abrasive characters and profound disappointments that deeply trouble her. Even when she returns home, Marji finds that both she and homeland have changed too much and the young woman and her loving family must decide where she truly belongs. (Read More)
Subgenre: | based on autobiography |
Themes: | depressiondivorceangerprisonmarriagefriendshiplove |
Locations: | airportrestauranthospital |
Characters: | studentteacherboydoctorfriendfather daughter relationshipfamily relationships |
Period: | 1970s1980s |
Story: | telephone callbased on graphic novelsupermarketclassreadingold womannuntoiletbased on comic bookcafevomitingcatwatching tvvoice over narrationshower …f ratedkissfight (See All) |
Corporate billionaire Edward Cole and working class mechanic Carter Chambers have nothing in common except for their terminal illnesses. While sharing a hospital room together, they decide to leave it and do all the things they have ever wanted to do before they die according to their bucket list. I …n the process, both of them heal each other, become unlikely friends, and ultimately find joy in life. (Read More)
Themes: | illnesscancerobsessionmoneymarriagefriendshiplove |
Locations: | airplanerestauranthospital |
Characters: | doctorfriendfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | telephone callchemotherapyclasschampagnehotel roomold womancafevomitingletterwatching tvvoice over narration |
L.A. soft-porn writer Carter Webb is frustrated enough, after his actress girlfriend dumps him, to need a serious break. He decides to spend it with his grandmother, who can't really take care of herself and her Detroit suburb house anyway. Helpful Carter soon overcomes mishaps to bond with the foxy … neighbor across the street and her daughters. Helping them actually helps him regain perspective and self-confidence. (Read More)
Themes: | illnesscancerfriendshiplove |
Locations: | restauranthospital |
Characters: | grandmother grandson relationshipfriendfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | telephone calllistening to musicsupermarketdinercafevomitinglettercatwatching tvcomputershowerkiss |
Four members of a high school band called Mystery do everything they can to attend a KISS concert in Detroit. In order to make it to the show they must steal, cheat, strip, deal with an anti-rock mom and generally do whatever it takes to see the band that has inspired them to be musicians.
Themes: | moneyfriendship |
Locations: | school busrestaurant |
Characters: | studentteacherboyfriendfather daughter relationshipfamily relationships |
Period: | 1970s |
Story: | cleveland ohiotelephone calllistening to musiccomic bookrecordingnerdrecord playerclassnunbathroomcaferock musicunderwearfightkiss |
Wong Kar-Wai's movie about two love-struck cops is filmed in impressionistic splashes of motion and color. The first half deals with Cop 223, who has broken up with his girlfriend of five years. He purchases a tin of pineapples with an expiration date of May 1 each day for a month. By the end of tha …t time, he feels that he will either be rejoined with his love or that it too will have expired forever. The second half shows Cop 663 dealing with his breakup with his flight attendant girlfriend. He talks to his apartment furnishings until he meets a new girl at a local lunch counter. (Read More)
Themes: | obsessive compulsive disorderillnessobsessionlonelinessmoneylove |
Locations: | airportairplanerestaurant |
Characters: | father daughter relationshiphusband wife relationship |
Story: | telephone callinternal monologuerailway stationlistening to musicrecordinghotel roombathroomcafevomitinglettercatwatching tvunderwearvoice over narrationfight …kiss (See All) |
Seventeen-year-old Greg has managed to become part of every social group at his Pittsburgh high school without having any friends, but his life changes when his mother forces him to befriend Rachel, a girl he once knew in Hebrew school who has leukemia.
Themes: | illnesscancerangerfriendship |
Locations: | school bushospital |
Characters: | self referentialboyfriendfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | telephone callchemotherapyco workeranimated sequencenerdclasstelephonecollegevomitinglettercatwatching tvcomputervoice over narrationfight …interview (See All) |
Aurora and Emma are mother and daughter who march to different drummers. Beginning with Emma's marriage, Aurora shows how difficult and loving she can be. The movie covers several years of their lives as each finds different reasons to go on living and find joy. Aurora's interludes with Garrett Bree …dlove, retired astronaut and next door neighbor are quite striking. In the end, different people show their love in very different ways. (Read More)
Themes: | dysfunctional familycancerparanoiaangermarriagefriendshiplove |
Locations: | airportrestaurantnew york cityhospital |
Characters: | grandmother grandson relationshipteacherdoctorfriendhusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Period: | 1950s1960s1970s |
Story: | supermarketcollege |
A married couple who have managed to remain blissfully happy into their autumn years, are surrounded over the course of the four seasons of one average year by friends, colleagues, and family who all seem to suffer some degree of unhappiness.
Themes: | depressionlonelinessdivorceangermoneyfriendship |
Locations: | restaurant |
Characters: | doctorfriendfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | telephone callbakeryvegetarianco workerretirementcakereadingchampagnetelephonecafewatching tvcomputerkiss |
Six incarnations of Bob Dylan: an actor, a folk singer, an electrified troubadour, Rimbaud, Billy the Kid, and Woody Guthrie. Put Dylan's music behind their adventures, soliloquies, interviews, marriage, and infidelity. Recreate 1960s documentaries in black and white. Put each at a crossroads, the a …rtist becoming someone else. Jack, the son of Ramblin' Jack Elliott, finds Jesus; handsome Robbie falls in love then abandons Claire. Woody, a lad escaped from foster care, hobos the U.S. singing; Billy awakes in a valley threatened by a six-lane highway; Rimbaud talks. Jude, booed at Newport when he goes electric, fences with reporters, pundits, and fans. He won't be classified. (Read More)
Themes: | illnesscelebritydivorcemarriagelove |
Locations: | airportairplanerestaurantnew york cityhospital |
Characters: | artistboyfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationship |
Period: | 1950s1960s1970s |
Story: | telephone callgreeting cardtheatre audienceguitaristrecordingrecord playercafewatching tvunderwearvoice over narrationfightinterview |
The bitter, cynical and lonely Barbara Covett is a tough and conservative teacher, near to retirement, who is loathed by her colleagues and students. In the loneliness of her apartment, she spends her spare time writing her journal, taking care of her old cat Portia and missing her special friend Je …nnifer Dodd. When Sheba Hart joins the high-school as the new art teacher, Barbara dedicates her attention to the newcomer, writing sharp and unpleasant comments about her behavior and clothes. When Barbara helps Sheba in a difficult situation with two students, the grateful Sheba invites her to have lunch with her family. Sheba introduces her husband and former professor Richard Hart, who is about twenty years older than she; her rebellious teenager daughter Polly; and her son Ben that has Down's Syndrome. Barbara becomes close to Sheba, but when she accidentally discovers that Sheba is having an affair with the fifteen year-old student Steven Connolly, Barbara sees the chance to manipulate and get closer to Sheba, hiding the secret from the school headmaster. When Portia dies and Sheba does not stay with Barbara in the veterinary office to see Ben in a theater play, Barbara plots a Machiavellian revenge against Sheba, creating a scandal and consequent turmoil in their lives. (Read More)
Themes: | writingobsessionlonelinessprisonmarriagefriendship |
Characters: | artiststudentteacherfriendfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | telephone callbitternessretirementrecordinggraffiticlassvomitingcatvoice over narrationfightkiss |
Adam ('Tom Hiddleston' (qv)), an underground musician, reunites with his lover for centuries ('Tilda Swinton' (qv)) after he becomes depressed and tired with the direction human society has taken. Their love is interrupted and tested by his wild and uncontrollable little sister ('Mia Wasikowska' (qv …)). (Read More)
Themes: | illnessmoneylove |
Locations: | airplanehospital |
Characters: | teacherdoctorhusband wife relationship |
Story: | telephone callreference to mark twainguitaristlistening to musictape recorderrecordingundergroundrecord playerreadingtelephonebathroomrock musicwatching tvkiss |
In 1974, a hot-headed 19 year old named Michael Peterson decided he wanted to make a name for himself and so, with a homemade sawn-off shotgun and a head full of dreams he attempted to rob a post office. Swiftly apprehended and originally sentenced to 7 years in jail, Peterson has subsequently been …behind bars for 34 years, 30 of which have been spent in solitary confinement. During that time, Michael Petersen, the boy, faded away and 'Charles Bronson,' his superstar alter ego, took center stage. Inside the mind of Bronson - a scathing indictment of celebrity culture. (Read More)
Themes: | celebrityangerprisonmoneylove |
Locations: | restaurant |
Characters: | artiststudentteacherboyhusband wife relationship |
Story: | telephone calltheatre audienceanimated sequencelistening to musicrecordingrecord playertoiletcafeunderwearvoice over narrationkissfight |
A tale told over four seasons, starting in autumn when Juno, a 16-year-old high-school junior in Minnesota, discovers she's pregnant after one event in a chair with her best friend, Bleeker. In the waiting room of an abortion clinic, the quirky and whip-sharp Juno decides to give birth and to place …the child with an adoptive couple. She finds one in the PennySaver personals, contacts them, tells her dad and step-mother, and carries on with school. The chosen parents, upscale yuppies (one of whom is cool and laid back, the other meticulous and uptight), meet Juno, sign papers, and the year unfolds. Will Juno's plan work, can she improvise, and what about Bleeker? (Read More)
Themes: | adoptiondivorcemarriagefriendship |
Locations: | hospital |
Characters: | studentteacherdoctorfriendfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationship |
Story: | telephone callclerkguitaristlistening to musiccomic bookclasstoilettelephonebathroomvomitingcomputerunderwearvoice over narrationf ratedkiss |
Friendship, love, and coming of age in New York City, summer of 1994. Luke Shapiro has just graduated from high school, sells marijuana, and trades pot for therapy from a psychologist, Dr. Jeffrey Squires. Luke is attracted to a classmate, Stephanie, who's out of his league and Squires' step-daughte …r. By July, he's hanging out with Stephanie, taking her on his rounds selling pot out of an ice-cream pushcart. Then things take a turn. In the background, Squires and his wife as well as Luke's parents are having their troubles. (Read More)
Themes: | dysfunctional familydepressionparanoialonelinessdivorcemoneyfriendshiplove |
Locations: | new york city |
Characters: | grandmother grandson relationshipfriendhusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | telephone callpsychoanalysisguitaristlistening to musicgraffitireadingtoiletcollegebathroomvomitingwatching tvvoice over narrationshowerkiss |
Astrid Magnussen is a 15 year old girl, living in California. Her mother, Ingrid, is a beautiful, free-spirited poet. Their life, though unusual, is satisfying until one day, a man named Barry Kolker (that her mother refers to at first as "The goat man") comes into their lives, and Ingrid falls madl …y in love with him, only to have her heart broken, and her life ruined. For revenge, Ingrid murders Barry with the deadly poison of her favourite flower: The White Oleander. She is sent to prison for life, and Astrid has to go through foster home after foster home. Throughout nearly a decade she experiences forbidden love, religion, near-death experiences, drugs, starvation, and how it feels to be loved. But throughout these years, she keeps in touch with her mother via letters to prison. And while Ingrid's gift is to give Astrid the power to survive, Astrid's gift is to teach her Mother about love. (Read More)
Themes: | dysfunctional familyparanoialonelinessdivorceangerprisonmoneyfriendshiplove |
Locations: | school busrestaurant |
Characters: | artistteacherboyfriendfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | comic book shopcomic book artcomic bookclasscafeletterwatching tvcomputerunderwearvoice over narrationinterviewkissfight |
Based on the novel written by Stephen Chbosky, this is about 15-year-old Charlie (Logan Lerman), an endearing and naive outsider, coping with first love (Emma Watson), the suicide of his best friend, and his own mental illness while struggling to find a group of people with whom he belongs. The intr …overt freshman is taken under the wings of two seniors, Sam and Patrick, who welcome him to the real world. (Read More)
Themes: | writingillnesscancerdepressionlonelinessfriendshiplove |
Locations: | restauranthospital |
Characters: | teacherboydoctorfriendhusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | college studenttelephone callholding handstheatre audiencelistening to musicclassreadingtelephonecollegebathroomcafeletterwatching tvvoice over narrationkiss …fight (See All) |
Themes: | adoptiondivorcemoneymarriagefriendship |
Locations: | airportrestaurantnew york city |
Characters: | friendfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationship |
Period: | 1970s |
Story: | telephone calltheatre audiencetape recorderchampagnehotel roomdinertelephonecafewatching tvunderwearfightinterviewkiss |
In the weekend after thanksgiving 1973 the Hoods are skidding out of control. Benjamin Hood reels from drink to drink, trying not to think about his trouble at the office. His wife, Elena, is reading self help books and losing patience with her husband's lies. Their son, Paul, home for the holidays, … escapes to the city to pursue an alluring rich girl from his prep school. And young, budding nymphomaniac, Wendy Hood roams the neighborhood, innocently exploring liquor cabinets and lingerie drawers of her friends' parents, looking for something new. Then an ice storm hits, the worst in a century. Things get bad... (Read More)
Themes: | dysfunctional familydivorcemarriagefriendship |
Locations: | new york city |
Characters: | studentteacherboyfriendfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Period: | 1970s |
Story: | telephone callrailway stationcomic booktape recorderrecordingrecord playerclassreadingbathroomwatching tvunderwearvoice over narrationshowerkiss |
Made of Honor revolves around Tom and Hannah, who have been platonic friends for 10 years. He's a serial dater, while she wants marriage but hasn't found Mr. Right. Just as Tom is starting to think that he is relationship material after all, Hannah gets engaged. When she asks Tom to be her "maid" of … honor, he reluctantly agrees just so he can attempt to stop the wedding and woo her. (Read More)
Themes: | lonelinessdivorcemarriagefriendship |
Locations: | airplanerestaurantnew york city |
Characters: | studentfriendfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationship |
Story: | college studenthalloween costumetelephone callcakehalloweencafevomitingunderwearshowerkiss |
Based on the true story of Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker, two close friends who share a love of fantasy and literature, who conspire to kill Pauline's mother when she tries to end the girls' intense and obsessive relationship.
Themes: | writingillnessobsessiondivorcemarriagefriendshiplove |
Locations: | hospital |
Characters: | studentteacherfriendfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Period: | 1950s |
Story: | telephone calleating disordertheatre audiencerecordingrecord playerclasslettervoice over narrationkiss |
Jon and Wendy Savage are two siblings who have spent their adult years trying to recover from the abuse of their abusive father, Lenny Savage. Suddenly, a call comes in that his girlfriend has died, he cannot care for himself with his dementia and her family is dumping him on his children. Despite t …he fact Jon and Wendy have not spoken to Lenny for twenty years and he is even more loathsome than ever, the Savage siblings feel obliged to take care of him. Now together, brother and sister must come to terms with the new and painful responsibilities with their father now affecting their lives even as they struggle with their own personal demons Lenny helped create. (Read More)
Themes: | writingdysfunctional familymarriagelove |
Locations: | airportairplanerestaurantnew york cityhospital |
Characters: | studentteacherdoctorfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | telephone callgreeting cardphdretirementclassold womanbathroomcafecatwatching tvcomputerf ratedinterviewkiss |
Abducted on a rainy night in 1988, the obnoxious drunk, Oh Dae-Su, much to his surprise, wakes up locked in a windowless and dilapidated hotel room, for an unknown reason. There, his invisible and pitiless captors will feed him, clothe him and sedate him to avoid committing suicide, and as his only …companion and a window to the world is the TV in his stark cell, the only thing that helps Oh Dae-Su keep going is his daily journal. But then, unexpectedly, after fifteen long years in captivity, the perplexed prisoner is deliberately released, encouraged to track down his tormentor to finally get his retribution. Nevertheless, who would hate Oh Dae-Su so much he would deny him of a quick and clean death? (Read More)
Themes: | writinglonelinessangermoneyfriendshiplove |
Locations: | restaurantnew york city |
Characters: | doctorfriendfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationship |
Story: | telephone callanimated sequencecomic booktape recorderrecordinghotel roomnuntoiletbased on comic bookbathroomcafevomitingwatching tvcomputervoice over narration …showerfightkiss (See All) |
Christy Brown is a spastic quadriplegic born to a large, poor Irish family. His mother, Mrs Brown, recognizes the intelligence and humanity in the lad everyone else regards as a vegetable. Eventually, Christy matures into a cantankerous writer who uses his only functional limb, his left foot, to wri …te with. (Read More)
Subgenre: | based on autobiography |
Themes: | writingdepressionangermoneymarriagelove |
Locations: | restauranthospital |
Characters: | artistboydoctorfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | telephone calllistening to musicrecordingrecord playerreadingchampagnefight |
In this belated sequel to 'The Decline of the American Empire', 50-something Montreal college professor, Remy, learns that he is dying of liver cancer. He decides to make amends meet to his friends and family before he dies. He first tries to made peace with his ex-wife Louise, who asks their estran …ged son Sebastian, a successful businessman living in London, to come home. Sebastian makes the impossible happen, using his contacts and disrupting the entire Canadian system in every way possible to help his father fight his terminal illness to the bitter end, while he also tries to reunite his former friends, Pierre, Alain, Dominique, Diane, and Claude to see their old friend before he passes on. (Read More)
Themes: | writingillnesscancermoneymarriagefriendship |
Locations: | airportairplanerestauranthospital |
Characters: | studentteacherdoctorfriendfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | telephone callphdanimated sequenceclassnuncollegecafewatching tvcomputerkissfight |
In San Francisco in the 1950s, Margaret was a woman trying to make it on her own after leaving her husband with only her daughter and her paintings. She meets gregarious ladies' man and fellow painter Walter Keane in a park while she was struggling to make an impact with her drawings of children wit …h big eyes. The two quickly become a pair with outgoing Walter selling their paintings and quiet Margaret holed up at home painting even more children with big eyes. But Walter's actually selling her paintings as his own. A clash of financial success and critical failure soon sends Margaret reeling in her life of lies. With Walter still living the high life, Margaret's going to have to try making it on her own again and re-claiming her name and her paintings. (Read More)
Themes: | celebritydivorcemoneymarriagefriendship |
Locations: | restaurantnew york city |
Characters: | artistboyfriendfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Period: | 1950s1960s |
Story: | telephone calljellybeanjazz musicbitternessholding handslistening to musicfamesupermarketchampagnetelephonecaferock musicwatching tvvoice over narrationfight …kiss (See All) |
When his only friend and co-worker dies, a young man born with dwarfism moves to an abandoned train depot in rural New Jersey. Though he tried to maintain a life of solitude, he is soon entangled with an artist who is struggling with a personal tragedy and an overly friendly Cuban hot-dog vendor.
Themes: | depressionlonelinessdivorceangerfriendship |
Locations: | restauranthospital |
Characters: | artistteacherfriend |
Story: | telephone callretirementsupermarketclassreadingdinercafeunderwearkissfight |
Bloomington, Minnesota, 1967: Jewish physics lecturer Larry Gopnik is a serious and a very put-upon man. His daughter is stealing from him to save up for a nose job, his pot-head son, who gets stoned at his own bar-mitzvah, only wants him round to fix the TV aerial and his useless brother Arthur is …an unwelcome house guest. But both Arthur and Larry get turfed out into a motel when Larry's wife Judy, who wants a divorce, moves her lover, Sy, into the house and even after Sy's death in a car crash they are still there. With lawyers' bills mounting for his divorce, Arthur's criminal court appearances and a land feud with a neighbour Larry is tempted to take the bribe offered by a student to give him an illegal exam pass mark. And the rabbis he visits for advice only dole out platitudes. Still God moves in mysterious - and not always pleasant - ways, as Larry and his family will find out. (Read More)
Themes: | dysfunctional familyparanoiadivorcemarriagefriendship |
Locations: | school busrestaurant |
Characters: | studentteacherdoctorfriendfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Period: | 1960s |
Story: | telephone callneuroticlistening to musicrecordingrecord playerclasstoiletbathroomcafelettercatwatching tvunderwear |
New Rochelle, the 1960s. High schooler Frank Abagnale Jr. idolizes his father, who's in trouble with the IRS. When his parents separate, Frank runs away to Manhattan with $25 in his checking account, vowing to regain dad's losses and get his parents back together. Just a few years later, the FBI tra …cks him down in France; he's extradited, tried, and jailed for passing more than $4,000,000 in bad checks. Along the way, he's posed as a Pan Am pilot, a pediatrician, and an attorney. And, from nearly the beginning of this life of crime, he's been pursued by a dour FBI agent, Carl Hanratty. What starts as cat and mouse becomes something akin to father and son. (Read More)
Subgenre: | based on autobiography |
Themes: | divorceprisonmoney |
Locations: | airportairplanerestaurantnew york cityhospital |
Characters: | american dreamdoctorfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationship |
Period: | 1960s1970s |
Story: | theatre audiencecomic booktape recordernerdrecord playerchampagnetoiletdinervomitinglettercatvoice over narration |
In colorful, bustling modern-day Manhattan, Rafi Gardet, a beautiful 37-year-old photography producer reeling from a recent divorce, meets David Bloomberg, a handsome 23-year-old painter recently out of college. Rafi's therapist, Dr. Lisa Metzger, who is working to help Rafi overcome her fears of in …timacy, finds out that Rafi's new lover is--unfortunately for Lisa--her only son, David. Both David and Rafi must contend with their 14-year age gap, vastly different backgrounds and the demands of David's traditional mother. Despite their intense attraction, the charmed couple soon realizes that vastly different ages and backgrounds create much conflict. A Jewish hip-hop lover and closet painter who still lives with his grandparents, David has little in common with Rafi--a non-practicing Catholic from a wealthy, broken family who travels in the sophisticated, high-end world of fashion. (Read More)
Themes: | divorceangermarriagefriendship |
Locations: | restaurantnew york city |
Characters: | grandmother grandson relationshipartistfriendfather daughter relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | telephone callpsychoanalysisbakeryjazz musictheatre audienceanimated sequencereadingcollegecafecatwatching tvunderwearkissfight |
A documentary on the life of 'Amy Winehouse' (qv), the immensely talented yet doomed songstress. We see her from her teen years, where she already showed her singing abilities, to her finding success and then her downward spiral into alcoholism and drugs.
Themes: | illnesscelebritydepressionobsessiondivorcemoneymarriagefriendship |
Locations: | airporthospital |
Characters: | doctorfriendfather daughter relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | telephone calleating disorderjazz musicguitaristfametelephonevomitingcomputervoice over narrationinterviewkiss |
Man on the Moon is a biographical movie on the late comedian 'Andy Kaufman (I)' (qv). Kaufman, along with his role on _"Taxi" (1978)_ (qv), was famous for being the self-declared Intergender Wrestling Champion of the world. After beating women time and time again, 'Jerry Lawler' (qv) (who plays hims …elf in the movie), a professional wrestler, got tired of seeing all of this and decided to challenge Kaufman to a match. In most of the matches the two had, Lawler prevailed with the piledriver, which is a move by spiking an opponent head-first into the mat. One of the most famous moments in this feud was in the early 80s when Kaufman threw coffee on Lawler on _"Late Night with David Letterman" (1982)_ (qv), got into fisticuffs with Lawler, and proceeded to sue NBC. (Read More)
Themes: | illnesscancermarriagefriendship |
Locations: | restaurantnew york city |
Characters: | boydoctorfriendhusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | reference to david lettermanchemotherapytheatre audienceguitaristrecordingcakerecord playercollegebathroomcafewatching tvunderwearfight |
This is the story of Enid and Rebecca after they finish the high school. Both have problems relating to people and they spend their time hanging around and bothering creeps. When they meet Seymour who is a social outsider who loves to collect old 78 records, Enid's life will change forever.
Themes: | dysfunctional familyobsessionfriendshiplove |
Characters: | teacherfriendfather daughter relationship |
Story: | record collectorgarage salebased on graphic novelcynicismcakerecord playerdinerbased on comic bookvoice over narrationf ratedfight |
An elderly couple journey to Tokyo to visit their children and are confronted by indifference, ingratitude and selfishness. When the parents are packed off to a resort by their busy, impatient children, the film deepens into an unbearably moving meditation on mortality.
Themes: | illnesslonelinessmoneymarriagefriendship |
Characters: | grandmother grandson relationshipstudentteacherdoctorfriendfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Period: | 1950s |
Story: | telephone callretirementrailway stationcakeclassreadingold womanletterunderwear |
Soon after moving in, Beth, a brainy, beautiful writer damaged from a past relationship encounters Adam, the handsome, but odd, fellow in the downstairs apartment whose awkwardness is perplexing. Beth and Adam's ultimate connection leads to a tricky relationship that exemplifies something universal: … truly reaching another person means bravely stretching into uncomfortable territory and the resulting shake-up can be liberating. (Read More)
Themes: | autismadoption |
Locations: | restaurantnew york city |
Characters: | studentteacherfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationship |
Story: | telephone callasperger's syndrometheatre productiontheatre audienceco workerclassreadingchampagnecafewatching tvcomputerunderwearvoice over narrationfightkiss |
On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne reports that his wife, Amy, has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick's portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behavior have everyone asking the same dark …question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife? (Read More)
Themes: | writingillnesscancerparanoiaobsessionangermoneymarriage |
Locations: | airportnew york cityhospital |
Characters: | husband wife relationship |
Story: | telephone callbook signingbitternessrecord playertelephonebathroomlettercatwatching tvvoice over narrationshowerf ratedfightinterviewkiss |
Brian Lackey is determined to discover what happened during an amnesia blackout when he was eight years old, and then later woke with a bloody nose. He believes he was abducted by aliens, and N. McCormick, a fellow player on Brian's childhood baseball team, may be the key as to exactly what happened … that night. As Brian searches for the truth and tries to track him down, Neil McCormick takes up hustling and moves to New York, in attempts to forget childhood memories that haunt him. Together, the two of them uncover the terrible truth of the scars they share. (Read More)
Themes: | dysfunctional familyparanoiaobsessionmoneyfriendship |
Locations: | new york city |
Characters: | studentboyfriendfamily relationships |
Period: | 1980s |
Story: | college studenthalloween costumetelephone calltrick or treatingbitternesslistening to musictape recordergraffitireadinghalloweenletterwatching tvunderwearvoice over narrationshower …kiss (See All) |
Eva Khatchadourian is trying to piece together her life following the "incident". Once a successful travel writer, she is forced to take whatever job comes her way, which of late is as a clerk in a travel agency. She lives a solitary life as people who know about her situation openly shun her, even …to the point of violent actions toward her. She, in turn, fosters that solitary life because of the incident, the aftermath of which has turned her into a meek and scared woman. That incident involved her son Kevin Khatchadourian, who is now approaching his eighteenth birthday. Eva and Kevin have always had a troubled relationship, even when he was an infant. Whatever troubles he saw, Franklin, Eva's complacent husband, just attributed it to Kevin being a typical boy. The incident may be seen by both Kevin and Eva as his ultimate act in defiance against his mother. (Read More)
Themes: | dysfunctional familyparanoiaangerprison |
Locations: | restaurantnew york cityhospital |
Characters: | self referentialboydoctorfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | halloween costumetelephone callclerkholding handslistening to musiccakesupermarketreadinghalloweentelephonevomitingwatching tvcomputerf ratedkiss |
In the early 1970s, Sixto Rodriguez was a Detroit folksinger who had a short-lived recording career with only two well received but non-selling albums. Unknown to Rodriguez, his musical story continued in South Africa where he became a pop music icon and inspiration for generations. Long rumored the …re to be dead by suicide, a few fans in the 1990s decided to seek out the truth of their hero's fate. What follows is a bizarrely heartening story in which they found far more in their quest than they ever hoped, while a Detroit construction laborer discovered that his lost artistic dreams came true after all. (Read More)
Themes: | paranoiamoney |
Locations: | airportairplane |
Characters: | artistfather daughter relationshiphusband wife relationship |
Period: | 1970s1980s |
Story: | telephone callblue collarguitaristlistening to musicrecordingfamereadingtelephonewatching tvinterview |
Warren Schmidt has led a safe, predictable life working in the insurance industry in Omaha, Nebr. for many years, yet now faces retirement. At the same time he is forced to take a hard look at his wife, his life and his relationship with his estranged daughter. An often hilarious series of events fo …llow as Schmidt embarks on an unpredictable RV journey to attend his daughter's wedding in Denver. (Read More)
Themes: | dysfunctional familydepressionmarriage |
Locations: | airportrestaurant |
Characters: | father daughter relationshipfamily relationships |
Story: | retirement partybohemianretirementsupermarketnuntoiletcollegelettervoice over narration |
Down and out rock star Dewey Finn gets fired from his band, and he faces a mountain of debts and depression. He takes a job as a 4th grade substitute teacher at an uptight private school where his attitude and hijinx have a powerful effect on his students. He also meets Zack, a 10-year-old guitar pr …odigy, who could help Dewey win a "battle of the bands" competition, which would solve his financial problems and put him back in the spotlight. (Read More)
Themes: | illnessdepressionangerfriendship |
Locations: | school bus |
Characters: | studentteacherboyfriendfamily relationships |
Story: | telephone callmtvguitaristclasstoiletdinerrock musiccomputer |
Brodie Bruce, a Sega and comic book obsessed college student, and his best friend, TS Quint, are both dumped by their girlfriends on the same day, and to deal with their loss, they both go to the local mall. Along the way, they meet up with some friends, including Willam, a guy who stares at Magic E …ye pictures, desprately trying to see the hidden image; Gwen, one of TS's ex-girlfriends; and Jay & Silent Bob, of Clerks fame. Eventually, they decide to try and win back their significant others, and take care of their respective nemesises (TS's girlfriend's father, and a store clerk who hates the two for not having any shopping agenda). (Read More)
Themes: | friendship |
Mood: | breaking the fourth wall |
Characters: | studentfriendfather daughter relationship |
Story: | college studentcomic book shopbook signingreference to batmanreference to supermanclerklosercomic bookfamecollegevomitingletterfight |
Ben has recently graduated from college, with his parents now expecting great things from him. At his "Homecoming" party, Mrs. Robinson, the wife of his father's business partner, has Ben drive her home, which leads to an affair between the two. The affair eventually ends, but comes back to haunt hi …m when he finds himself falling for Elaine, Mrs. Robinson's daughter. (Read More)
Themes: | dysfunctional familyobsessiondivorcemarriage |
Locations: | airportairplane |
Characters: | father daughter relationshiphusband wife relationship |
Period: | 1960s |
Story: | college studenttelephone callneurotichamburgerhotel roomcollegewatching tvunderwearkiss |