SYNOPSICS
Big Eden (2000) is a English movie. Thomas Bezucha has directed this movie. Arye Gross,Eric Schweig,Tim DeKay,Louise Fletcher are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2000. Big Eden (2000) is considered one of the best Comedy,Drama,Romance movie in India and around the world.
Big Eden is a tiny fictional town in northwestern Montana, as Preston Sturges or Frank Capra might have envisioned it. Timber and Cowboy country. This is the story of Henry Hart, a successful New York Artist, who returns to the town of his childhood to care for the ailing grandfather who raised him. Back in Big Eden, Henry must come to terms with his relationship to Dean Stewart, his best friend from high School, as well as the object of his unrequited love. All these years Henry has been pining for a dream image of Dean from back then. This is also the story of Pike Dexter, the shy, unassuming Native American owner of the town's general store, who is as surprised as anyone to find himself falling in love with Henry. The people of Big Eden conspire and attempt to bring Henry and Pike together.
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Big Eden (2000) Reviews
The lovers, the dreamers and thee...
What's THIS? A gay-themed movie where nobody dies of AIDS? Nobody gets fag-bashed? Nobody has sweatily hedonistic sex in some backroom of an all-night dance bar? Not everybody has a body built like Michaelangelo's David or better? WHAT is this world coming to??? Hopefully, it's coming to BIG EDEN. There have been tons of straight, light-as-a-souffle comedies that have come down the pike, and all of them were about as grounded in reality as Alice In Wonderland. It was high time gay audiences got their own, and though there have been many steps in the right direction (BILLY ELLIOT, BEAUTIFUL THING, trick), BIG EDEN is finally the first comedy to step forward and say "Yes! Gay men over 30 do fall in love, and it all doesn't have to be about high drama!" Basically, the plot sounds unremarkable, or like one of those TV-movies-of-the-week where it's one-good-man-with-a-past-against-the-judgmental-rest-of-the-world. A successful New York artist must return to the small, Mid-Western town where he grew up, to care for his ailing grandfather. Once there, he rediscovers friends, family and his heart's desire: a strapping, good-looking newly divorced father of two, who was the love of his life from high school. And did I mention another strapping, good-looking fella: the Native American proprietor of the local General Store, who has had an unrequited hankerin' for the artist himself all their lives? There are a thousand paths this storyline could take, and in the real world, none of them end happily. Which is where BIG EDEN throws its audience a real curveball, by asking us to imagine, in the land of the Marlboro Man, out in the middle of "God's Country," that all traces of intolerance and bigotry have been all but excised. There is a group of potential redneck cowboy types right out of Central Casting, who not only DON'T rally around the Stars-and-Stripes to kick these "pree-verts" out of town on a rail, but they conspire to get the lovers who belong together...together! Along with the rest of the town's other quirky-yet-endearing characters. The long-underrated Arye Gross, who has languished away too many years in less-than-subpar projects, finally shows a glimmer of what makes him perfect leading man material as Henry Hart, the "hero" of the piece. Tim DeKay takes the role of Dean, the straight-but-confused best friend whom Henry would like to be more, and makes him sympathetic, even though there are scenes where you want to reach into the screen and just slap him around a little...As Henry's best female friend in Big Eden, and as the quintessential grandfather, Sam Hart, Louise Fletcher and George Coe (respectively) take temporary vacations from the kind of characters they usually play, to give us vivid portrayals of good people with good hearts, who want nothing more than to see someone in their lives made very happy. Rounding out the cast is the excellent Nan Martin as the marvelously meddlesome Widow Thayer, who gets some of the movie's biggest laughs. Ditto Viane Cox, playing Henry's New York promoter, agent and no-BS friend. The most stunning casting coup, however, in a cast of really fine actors, is Eric Schweig, who plays Pike, the third man in the shifting love triangle. Someone mentioned before that he comes off at first like Will Sampson's Chief in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, until you realize the reasons why he's acting the way he does: ever been in love with someone so badly, you could barely look at them, speak to them, or even bear to be around them? We are still light-years away from a world where a committed same-sex couple of either gender can display open affection for one another, and have the gasps and giggles it would elicit from onlookers be supportive rather than derisive. But bless writer/director Thomas Bezucha for asking "What if?" and then showing us the blissful result. Finally, a gay-themed film I can show to my mother without blushing.
Perfect Recipe: Just enough hearfelt sweetness, and no "FABulousness"!!
Big Eden is a breath of fresh air! I would like to shake director Thomas Bezucha's hand and thank him for the kind of film I have been waiting for for years: a film in which gay men were represented in all shapes and sizes, where they actually were OVER the age of 30, and where they were just regular guys! No drag queens, no fey lispy men snapping their fingers saying "you go, girl," no circuit boys and their designer drugs, no latest club hit from Cher, no stereotypes played for laughs. I was happy that the film All Over The Guy was a step in the right direction, and Big Eden is the one film that has broken through that barrier and gosh darn it, SOMEONE had to do this! Realists and critics like Roger Ebert have totally missed the point of this film, saying no town could be this welcoming to gays and lesbians and supportive of their lives. The filmmakers wanted to present a "what if" situation in which there was no bigotry, so that the focus of the story would be on the self discovery of the three main leads and the romance. What's so wrong with that for a change? The fact that this was done so well helps even more. Takes you back to films from the 1940s and beyond. Think of it this way, if this were a story about heterosexual love, then there would be no question about the whole town's support and helping get the lovers together. That's the focus of the story, so by eliminating the "bigotry and hate" aspect, we can just sit back and enjoy what this film is supposed to be about: intimacy and where you belong. As Henry (Arye Gross) is visiting his hometown, he finds he still has feelings for a friend from his childhood, Dean(Tim DeKay). In the meantime, Henry is perplexed about the behaviour of the Native American store owner named Pike (Eric Schweig), thinking the guy doesn't like him (a deleted scene elaborates on this fact, Henry says "he didn't even like me back in high school.") Ah, but what is REALLY behind Pike's actions? There is quite a bit of vague behaviour so that you're left thinking "who's really smitten with whom here?" Eventually, Henry realizes the true meaning of his feelings for Dean and with a heartfelt film like this, you just know that somehow everyone will find a degree of happiness and not be left hurt. This is a film about friends and family, and most of all, HOPE. It's refreshing to see a focus on the story without trying to make sure there's enough cussing to garner a certain rating or "cute, naked bodies" to lure some in who would normally not be watching a film like this in the first place. One reviewer was offended by the casting of a Native American in Big Eden, well I say KUDOS to to casting Eric Schweig -- I personally know gay Native Americans and as that saying goes, "we are everywhere" and you can't deny that certain races or nationalities have gays and lesbians in them. In a time where too much focus is on lipstick lesbians and how you can just work a movie around that, it's so wonderful to have a film like Big Eden defy all the typical cliches and dare to give us a rather wholesome, healthy portrayal of gays -- one in which we do value our families and their support, and have other values instead of what people seem to think it's like from watching Queer As Folk. I've always felt Arye Gross would be given a great lead role one day, and he plays Henry so well, so much like a "regular guy." I for one am so happy that a film like this is showing gay men do have lives beyond the age of 30, and can be just as desirable. Tim DeKay may be eye candy without a shirt for some, but his character is still grounded in reality and he handles that part quite well. Eric Schweig is simply perfect, his character shows that you can't just look at someone and say "that's gay for sure." Louise Fletcher is so loving you just want to hug her, and George Coe gives his role a lot of respect. Big Eden was a big winner at numerous film festivals, and I am so happy that all involved in making this dream of a film a reality (and a REAL reality situation for our lives someday soon) are being given a lot of respect for this vision!
Oh, if the world was truly that accepting!
What a marvelous movie! A gay romantic comedy. Going home to find out your secret life isn't really much of a secret, and knowing that some people actually want to help you find what you thought you would never have. I have watched it twice on the movie channel now, and I love it. It is hard for me to imagine life actually being like that in a remote place. I am not gay, but this movie reinforced for me, that gays are looking for the right love just like straights. OK, so I'm a romantic. I can only hope that this was really someone's experience. Hopefully we will see more of this kind of thing, until it is no more unusual. Yea!!!!
Not just another gay movie, but a great romance and drama
This was a great movie. It was beautifully shot, showing a northern-ish small mountain town throughout several seasons (it reminded me of Northern Exposure more than once). The plot is by far one of the most realistic and engaging of the many gay movies I have watched. It isn't as agenda-driven as many of the gay films being made these days; it was first and foremost a beautiful story about accepting yourself as an adult, navigating complicated family relationships, and finding/nurturing/accepting relationships that are good for you rather than chasing after pointless fantasies of romance. Even my very-straight-husband loved it (and teared up at the end when the protagonist finally picks the right guy!). It was a great story. The acting is very impressive too. I would absolutely recommend it to both gay and straight audiences.
IT COULD HAPPEN
Until a few days ago I had never heard of the film BIG EDEN- and am still not quite sure from where the title came. I appreciated the total absence of any gay stereotypes and while it stretched one's imagination (greatly) regarding the plot and how it was presented in the film, in my mind, it could and has happened in just the way the director envisioned it. It would seem that his choice of a mythical(?) town in northwestern Montana was very much on purpose - making the whole thing improbable, at best. Still, that very romantic situation has happened a great deal in small town USA. Our director has changed the gender mix and I believe asked us to challenge our own human prejudices and failings. To a person, everyone in the film was completely believable. It was a romantic love story, as I saw it, with an unexpected but nevertheless real, valid, and honest gender mix. At one point it is obvious that the grandfather knows that his grandson is gay and is hoping that he will confide and share that with him. Some of the towns people depicted in this film are almost ALWAYS seen as conservative and close-minded and downright prejudicial in other films that deal with this particular subject matter. I'm happy to say that I do know lots of open-minded, live-and-let-people who would definitely enjoy and applaud this gem of a film. With all the sudden controversy about same-sex marriages it would seem that its appearance on cable tv was not only timely but very much on purpose. I have a longtime friend who grew up in Montana, and although he has yet to see the film, I'm quite sure that he would agree, that this particular romantic love story could NOT have happened as it did in the film in this small town in Montana. I'm more certain it could and has happened in more urban cities, like NYC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, et cetera. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend the film to anyone especially to those who have NEVER considered life without stereotyping others, or that LOVE and LOVING is not only the most beautiful and powerful gift we can give to and receive from one another, but it is also both limitless and has NEVER been gender specific. For me it is the highest form of human behavior and the very best experience we can have and share in our all too short lives on Earth. I'd enjoy hearing from others and their comments about the film. Our main character, unfortunately, is still too ashamed of who he is and is the direct source of his difficulty in telling his ailing grandfather of his gender affection for two of his male friends. Again I highly recommend this film as an alternative to all of the violent,negative, and mean spirited films that the Hollywood seems to happily produce for public consumption and in doing so, laugh all the way to the bank. Peace with out - Jesse