Flipped Movie Premiere

Mon Jul 26th

God is awesome!!! I've just arrived back from the movie premiere of the Rob Reiner directed movie Flipped at the Arclight Theater on Sunset Blvd. and I had an amazing experience. I got my "insider" access to the red carpet event and movie via a ticket I received from www.fobo.com so I was already blessed. I had two extra tickets for friends but ended up heading in by my lonesome self. The red carpet was set up in front of Cinerama so I saw the actors posing outside for the cameras upon entering the theater. The actors entered as I was grabbing my free popcorn and soda and one teen actress was wearing a beautiful black and white dress and shoes, which I complimented her on. The event staff came and herded us into our seats then the lights dimmed and the movie started to wonderful 50's do-wop music.

I am still all a twitter as I write this because I got to meet the movie's director, Rob Reiner. I heard his voice as he walked behind my seat to exit the theater and I immediately recognized it. So I popped out of my seat and raced after him then I introduced myself and shook his hand while telling him how I love his work. Reiner is a big guy (about 6' 4" and easily 280 lbs) and I was a bit nervous and excited but he is a real softy. He smiled his easy gapped grin and allowed me to intrude on his night. I pretty much tailed him the rest of the night just listening to him talk about how he envisioned the film before filming.

For those who don't know, Reiner has been acting since his teens but he first came to my attention as an actor when he played Mike "Meathead" Stivik on the 70's hit sit-com, All In The Family. Reiner won 2 best supporting Emmys for the role but, as his dad (Carl Reiner)before him, he did not just limit himself to just acting. He attended UCLA Film School and wrote for the Smothers Brothers variety show and he even wrote the pilot episode of Happy Days.

Reiner didn't stop at acting and writing either. He has produced many movie projects and he still can be seen acting in such films as Sleepless In Seattle. In the 1990's, he also started his own successful production company, Castle Rock Entertainment , which he later sold to Warner Brothers. Reiner then made his directorial debut with This Is Spinal Tap(1984)followed by the critically acclaimed Stand By Me (1986) followed by The Princess Bride(1987), When Harry Met Sally (1989) Misery(1990), A Few Good Men (1992), Ghost Of Mississippi (1996), Rumour Has It... (2005) and most recently The Bucket List (2007) so no one can blame me for following him around the rest of the night(lol).

I really had a good time mingling with the movie's cast and helping some teen girls get a good picture with a young handsome actor. At one time I thought I was standing next to the teen actress who starred in the movie and I complimented her on how good of a job she did but she blushed then smiled widely and said that she wasn't the one in the movie. I asked her who she was and she giggled and told me she was Reiner's daughter, Romy, and the handsome actor I had just instructed in posing with the teen girls was actually Reiner's son. She asked if I liked the movie and I assured her that I loved it. She smiled real big and I could tell that she was a big "daddy's girl". Gushing with enthusiasm, I gave her a run down of her father and grandfather's filmography and we chatted about their work a bit.

I didn't see Callan McAuliff (Bryce from the movie) but I walked right by Juli's older brothers from the movie and then right by Aidan Quin. Quin played Juli's Dad in the movie and he was now deep in conversation with someone so I didn't bother them. I was waiting to see if I saw Rebecca de Mornay or John Mahoney but I didn't see them at all. I did see an older gentleman with a white beard who kinda sort of looked like Mahoney but I wasn't sure because he looked very thin.

To avoid looking like a stalker, I had convinced a kid to get Reiner's autograph for me but he came back with some other actor's signature. I was reluctant to approach Reiner again but Romy just smiled at me and wrangled a quick autograph for me from her dad. I found out that the pretty brunette next to us was their mom, Mrs. Rob Reiner, who was also very kind and understanding.

The staff ushered us out to the sidewalk where I saw Romy again this time she was standing next to the now recognizable teen actress in that black and white dress. It turns out that she is 14 y.o. Madeline Carroll, the lead actress from the movie. Seeing Romy and Madeline side-by-side, except for them being brunettes, it was easy to tell them apart. The girls hugged and talked a bit and welcomed me into the circle before Madeline was called away for more photos.

Romy and I talked some more and I learned that she was just 12 years old. She remarked that she was enjoying my company because I was fun and I complimented her on how well she handled herself for being just 12. She moved on to be with her family while I complimented Penelope Ann Miller on her wonderful role as Juli's mother and on her gorgeous cocktail dress in sparkly white accented with purple and lilac sequins and gem stones and a cinched waist. She signed my ticket just as Kevin Weisman (Uncle Daniel in the movie) walked by then everyone waved good bye and got into the limos. I waved back to them from the sidewalk as they left for the after party. I swear I think I skipped all the way home singing Awesome by Greg O'Quin n' Joyful Noise. Awesome God!!!!

Flipped Movie Review:

Stand By Me is a poignant coming of age/buddy movie about 4 pre-teen boys in a small town called Castle Rock in the 1960's. Flipped marks Reiner's return to familiar (if less dramatic) territory as Stand By Me as it's set in an idyllic small town America in the 1960's also. Flipped really is a movie with good wholesome family values without being too heavy handed with it. It is actually a sort of romantic comedy from age 7 to the early teens and it is real funny, too (Grease meets When Harry Met Sally or He Said, She Said for teens and tweens).

The film's cinematography, set and costume design were good and the music was even better so I was toe-tapping and singing along to my favorite oldies. The movie was casted very well and paced even better. The dialog was spot on and shows the skill of a good comedy writer. Though the movie is based on the book, kudos again to Reiner who co-wrote the film as well as directed it.

Though the movie is essentially a rom-com, when the drama occurs it is done just right and as a resultis very compelling.

Though not household names as yet, the yound stars all acted superbly. I predict that this film will be the film that brings them great recognition within the industry for years to come. Anthony Edwards was a surprise heavy as Bryce's condescending and insensitive jerk of a dad and Quin puts in a solid performance as Juli's working class dad. Both Miller and DeMornay added complexities to their roles as traditional 1950's women and Miller especially shined during her tense dramatic scenes near the end of the movie.

Flipped is also deep with great insight to the awkwardness of growing up and young love. The 94 minutes went by very quickly and everyone laughed throughout and I even cried once or twice. I especially loved how Reiner dealt with moral development in teens, family issues, disability and aging.

IMHO Rating:
This is a movie that has something for everyone and will please viewers age 10-100. So SEE IT!!!! SEE IT!!!! SEE IT!!!!