Don't be deceived by the title; this is not another film about America in World War II. "Life During Wartime" is set in modern-day Los Angeles and has nothing to do with warfare.
Tommy (David Arquette of "Dream with the Fishes") is a young, likeable, up-and-coming salesman of home security systems. Things are going well for him; he's got a new job and a new girlfriend, Gale (Kate Capshaw, aka. Mrs. Spielberg). His boss, Heinrich (Stanley Tucci of "Big Night"), likes Tommy enough to put him in the company's new TV commercial. But Heinrich's company is struggling; reduced crime hasn't helped *everyone*. Heinrich, it turns out, has a few dark secrets that could make Tommy's life a living hell.
Evan Dunsky's sometimes hilarious debut film "Life During Wartime" has a dark side to it, but the film isn't all black comedy. Some of the sexually-oriented humor is outrageously funny - the packed house at our theater was in hysterics several times. Only later in the film does it get darker. And the film avoids being stagey even though it is based on a play (by Keith Reddin).
"Life During Wartime", made on a low budget, is still playing the festival circuit; it's debut was Toronto in the fall and also showed at Sundance before I saw it here last week at the Portland International Film Festival. The film has been picked up by one of the Sony distributors and should be opening in limited release later this year.
"Life During Wartime" is not a perfect film by any means. David Arquette is so cute that you just want to strangle him. And the film does wane towards the end; the ending itself is kind of an unsatisfying whimper. But there are enough hearty laughs earlier to make it very worthwhile. If you aren't put off by dark humor or sexually-explicit dialogue, check it out. It may show up at your local art house instead of the suburban multiplexes, but "Life During Wartime" isn't really an art film. Mainstream adult audiences should enjoy it too.
Andrew
For more information, see http://us.imdb.com/M/title-exact?title=Life+During+Wartime
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Andrew ahall@bizave.com Visit Andrew's Portland, Oregon Web Site: http://www.bizave.com
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