The New Twenty (2009) directed by Chris Mason Johnson

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Director: Chris Mason Johnson

Writers: Ishmael Chawla (writer)
Chris Mason Johnson (writer)

Genre:Drama

Tagline: Text is the new sex. Gay is the new straight. Friends are the new family. Thirty isn't what it used to be...

Plot: Writer-director Chris Mason Johnson's award-winning first feature charts the lives of five New Yorkers, a mix of gay and straight best friends about to turn thirty. With emotionally vivid performances and nuanced characters, THE NEW TWENTY paints the portrait of a generation living the highs and lows of a Wall Street world destined to disappear overnight.

The year is 2006 and prosperity seems unending: two of the five are investment bankers, another works in advertising, another does freelance database design, and only one of the five might be called a slacker. But they all suffer from, as loner Felix puts it, & a touch of existential malaise courtesy of late capitalism. You know, the usual. Director Chris Mason Johnson examines what it means to be 30 in this ensemble drama about a group of friends who reflect on their lives seven years out of college, only to learn that things didn't turn out quite as planned. Andrew and Julie (Ryan Locke and Nicole Bilderback) seem successful, but their relationship isn't. Ben (Colin Fickes) is unemployed, Felix (Thomas Sadoski) has a heroin problem, and Tony (Andrew Wei Lin) is just coasting. So if money isn t the root of their discontent, what is? Whatever they re searching for - love, meaning in work - they won t find it in each other. On TV, friendship lasts forever. In real life, not so much.

THE NEW TWENTY reflects the zeitgeist of a new and happening generation, one in which gay and straight mix and it s not a big deal. This sense of tapping into the spirit of today places THE NEW TWENTY in the same genre as American Graffiti,The Big Chill and St. Elmo's Fire.

The hot cast includes: Terry Serpico (Michael Clayton, Hannibal), sexy Ryan Locke (American Gun), Outfest Best Actress award-winner Nicole Bilderback (Bring It On) and with Bill Sage (Mysterious Skin), Colin Fickes (Roger Dodger), Andrew Wei Lin, Thomas Sadoski and 2009 Tony Award winner Karen Olivo (West Side Story).

Awards: 2008 Jury Award for Best First-Time Director (Chris Mason Johnson), Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival
2008 Outfest Achievement Award for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film (Nicole Bilderback), L.A. Outfest
2008 Best Actor (Colin Fickes), Calgary Int'l Diversity Fest
2008 Best Screenwriting (Chris Mason Johnson/Ishmael Chawla), FilmOut San Diego

@IMDb
@Amazon: The New Twenty
@Netflix
@Wolfe Video











Cast (in credits order)
Bill Sage ... Robert Cameron
Andrew Wei Lin ... Tony Kim
Nicole Bilderback ... Julie Kim
Ryan Locke ... Andrew Hatch
Colin Fickes ... Ben Barr
Thomas Sadoski ... Felix Canavan
Terry Serpico ... Louie Kennick
Cordelia Reynolds ... Lucy
Karen Olivo ... Bethany
Heather Litteer ... Nadia
Larisa Polonsky ... Vera
Bridget Moloney ... Samantha
Michael Sirow ... Matt
Ryan Templeton ... Drunk Girl
Jessalyn Wanlim ... Amy
Matt Kerr ... Cheesy Guy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Scott DuQuette ... Running Boy
Jenna Laurenzo ... Running Girl
Larry Pine ... Old Cowboy
Nikki E. Walker ... Paramedic
Matthew Wilkas ... Cruise Guy

     
Tony & Robert

 
Julie & Andrew

 
Ben & Felix 

Comments

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

The New Twenty is an example of how you can do a drama movie without being overtly angst. I will not spoil it, enough to say that, it's far from being happily ever after, but at least there is a bit of hope, there is at least one story that has a romantic "happy" ending, and for the "ever after", well, it's let to the spectator to decide.

The movie is also a mix of situations, gay and straight; of the 5 friends, 3 are straight, and 2 in a relationship between them, and 2 are gay. Of the two gay, 1 is the classic example of cute boy that you don't understand why it's still single, and 1 is a coach potato (not my words, but of another reviewer); true be told, Ben is far from being attractive if you look him without attention, but if you pay a bit more attention, those cute blue eyes have a reason ;-)

In the end there is the habitat; midlle wealth, not extremely poor but not even filthy rich. Again, probably in the average, perfect for the message the movie wanted to convey.