DVD Review: The New Twenty: Bill Sage, Terry Serpico, Nicole Bilderback, Colin Fickes, Andrew Wei Lin, Ryan Locke, Thomas Sadoski, 20, Chris Mason Johnson: Movies & TV
DVD Review: The New Twenty: Bill Sage, Terry Serpico, Nicole Bilderback, Colin Fickes, Andrew Wei Lin, Ryan Locke, Thomas Sadoski, 20, Chris Mason Johnson: Movies & TVASIN=B001O0Z83E&
Review
Erotic tension and intriguing ambiguity. A stylish production. The Hollywood Reporter A sleek and accomplished debut film….He’s got something, this guy - LA Weekly…the performances are uniformly good…a welcome edge… - Alternative Film Guide –Update
Product Description
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. 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.
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They make me feel old (not new) long before my time…….,
By JUST A REVIEWER2 -
What we’re given in this trying-to-be trendy film is a “frat-pack” of graduate college friends, now approaching age 30 (which we all know, of course, their generation thinks of as the “new 20″). Consisting of four guys and a gal, we have thrust at us “unemployeds” and frequent drug users, along with one individual who is job successful and one who is trying-to-be. They are all, in their own way drifting, while trying to find both a future and emotional happiness. With one, possibly two exceptions, these are people this reviewer would definitely never care to come close to modeling after. There is disappointment after disappointment after disappointment, in almost all their lives. With perhaps the exception of only one individual (who appears on the way to finding it), none has found emotional satisfaction in their lives. And about the only sincere moment in this film is when a knock at the door brings to the person answering it an unexpected and heartfelt “I love you.”
With, perhaps, only the exceptions mentioned, these people are the kind hardly deserving or worthy of several hundred thousands of dollars being thrown away on presenting their stories.
PS–Writer/director, Johnson, definitely appears to have a problem with showing gay sexual scenes—-with no such problems showing up for the heterosexual ones. Why might that be?
****
Friends in the City,
By Amos Lassen (Little Rock, Arkansas) -
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)
“The New Twenty”
Friends in the City
Amos Lassen
Coming from Wolfe Video, “The New Twenty” is about the lives and the loves of a group of 29 year old friends in New York City. They begin to betray themselves and each other because of sex, money and drugs. Andrew (Ryan Locke) is at the center of the group of friends. He is the typical alpha male–tall, lean, blonde and handsome, an investment banker with a beautiful Asian fianc閑. Member of his circle are Ben (Colin Fickes) who is overweight and gay and addicted to internet sex sites, Felix (Thomas Sadoski), a druggie, and commitment-phobic Tony (Andrew Wei Lin).
This is a light film that has plenty of twists and turns and it is the acting ensemble that keeps the film interesting. We see the actors in their private moments and this makes this film become a personal story. Chris Mason Johnson directed this with a loving touch. Sure, the idea is not new but the execution is. Thinking that 30 is the age for midlife crises, each actor relates to it in his own way. The relationships are complex and the group represents the palette of sexual orientation, professional aspiration and personal desires. Bonds of friendship slip away as each ventures on this personal journey. They have been friends and together since college and now as the age of 30 approaches, they find their lives to be in a state of upheaval. Andrew begins a risky financial venture and is about to become married to Julie who stays at her job because she gets promoted often. Tony< Julie’s brother becomes involved with a professor who is HIV positive. Felix is a lost soul on the highway of life and is a borderline drug addict and quite possibly was once in love with Julie. Ben is a bear cub who has a myriad of neuroses. All of the characters are self-absorbed. It is the witty script and the lively cast that keeps us watching and enjoying. When one states that “30 is the new 20″, we see where these guys are going and we are perfectly content to go with them.
not a must see,
By D. Homsher (Lancaster, PA) -
To me, the characters of this film were more “type” than genuine—created simply for a trendy variety. None of them seemed fully developed and all were dysfunctional to the point of annoyance. Their respective maladies appeared to be the movie’s grounding. How long would any real person put up with them as friends? One “happy” couple finally emerged but their joinder felt merely pro forma—there was little plot developemnt of their relationship or chemistry between them. Less than a must see.
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