Greetings from the Shore (2007)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Greg Chwerchak

Writers:

Gabrielle Berberich (writer)
Greg Chwerchak (writer)

Release Date:

12 September 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Still reeling from the death of her father, a young girl spends one last summer at the Jersey Shore before heading off to college...

Awards:

23 wins

Cast

Kim Shaw	...	Jenny Chambers
Paul Sorvino	...	Catch Turner
David Fumero	...	Benicio Aceveda
Jay O. Sanders	...	Commodore Callaghan
Andrew Shaifer	...	Flip Dooley
Lars Arentz-Hansen	...	Lars Ramkildestrom
Gideon Emery	...	Sasha Mientkiewicz
Ron Geren	...	Christos Zazavich
Alexander Cendese	...	Owen Callaghan
Angela Pietropinto	...	Mrs. Salducci
Chuck Ardezzone	...	Foreman
Cordelia Reynolds	...	Heather
Jason Etter	...	Tyler
Cristin Milioti	...	Didi
Shevy Katan	...	Allison

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

USA:116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Lavallette, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Greetings From The Shore

Trivia:

The location of the party during which Owen is attacked by Benicio, is a house on West Point Island in Lavallette, NJ. West Point Island is also home to a residence owned by none other than famed Jersey-born actor Joe Pesci.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The morning scene on the bay featuring people fishing on the pier after Jenny's date with "Patrick" was actually an evening shot of the sunset, not the morning. One can tell by the coloring of the sky over the bay, which is in the west. Were it morning, the sun would be rising behind the camera, thus having a dark sky over the bay.

A Sweet Charmer, Start To Finish

It's refreshing to see a small, independent movie with such a big heart, lovable characters (played by an able, attractive cast) and stunning cinematography.

Who knew the Jersey Shore had such beautiful locations? I'm so accustomed to seeing films set in The Garden State that look like a trash dump, not like some tropical paradise. The light is golden and feels almost nostalgic, like a film from another decade.

But life isn't exactly paradise for the down-on-her luck main character (Kim Shaw), who's trying to fulfill her dream of going to Columbia by working all summer and praying she gets financial aid. Her dad's dead, her car breaks down, the job and housing she had lined up both vanish, and she's forced to either admit defeat or turn that frown upside down and make the best of things. Shaw is cute as a button and you want her to succeed. She finds work as a ESL teacher for the kitchen staff at a local restaurant/boat club and gets involved with a group of bad boy drifters who she's supposed to be teaching. Later than sooner, she learns what they're up to and falls for the cutest bad boy of the bunch (David Fumero).

Coming-of-age, end-of-innocence, romantic-comedy, thriller...whatever you want to call it, it works. Kudos to the filmmakers for making such a feel-good film...it would be great to see more indie films that show us the sunny side of life more often than focusing on just the dark clouds of human experience.