Tag: Romantic Comedy

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A film that is very mainstream and mature in its sensibilities

Greg Wright’s (Past The Popcorn) Knuckle Draggers Movie Review

The spirit of Barry Levinson is apparently alive and well… and living in L.A.

A cadre filmmakers led by east coast expatriates has been working together on low-budget projects for a number of years and has now turned out a romantic comedy as engaging (and still relatively wholesome and endearing!) as anything I’ve seen since, frankly, Diner. The ensemble cast is led by producers Paul J. Alessi (raised in Queens) and Amie Barksy (New Jersey); crewmembers Reuben Steinberg (cinematography) and writer/director Alex Ranarivelo are veterans of several Alessi/Barksy-produced films; and also along for more than their first ride with the producers are supporting players Brandon Olive, Karrie MacLaine, James D. Owens… and others, I’m sure.

To date, Alessi and Barsky’s oeuvre has been shorts; but clearly, they’ve not only been learning the ropes as they’ve worked their way up to their first feature-length production, they’ve also been having fun and building up a solid core of professionals with whom to work consistently. That investment has paid off, and the newcomers to the crew blend in seamlessly. I wouldn’t mind working with these folks, either, if I were in the biz—and I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing a lot more of these characters.

I also expect I’ll be watching Knuckle Draggers a few more times over the years. Hopefully, you’ll be able to as well!

At the … READ MORE

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Film Crave – Knuckle Draggers: Even I Can Relate

3/4 stars

I’m usually not the person to go to for romantic comedies as I haven’t found many I like. However, the reason this ranks higher than most is it takes a common theme yet makes it completely relatable to even someone as rom/com adverse as I am.

Despite the L.A. setting, the characters are all believable. The main problem I have with most of these films is that I can never imagine myself in that kind of situation – Knuckle Draggers, however, seems like something that could be happening right now, if not to me, then to someone I could imagine. I mean, the guys do… READ MORE

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Festival Movie Review – ‘Knuckle Draggers’ – Get The Big Picture

As long as there have been movies, there have been movies about relationships. One of the very first films to play for an paying audience was The Kiss, which was a 47-second smooch made in 1896. It was quite controversial at the time.

Obviously, the form handles love in broader terms now, with romantic comedies and dramas of every stripe, and even the majority of action films have some love interest.

It does make the world go ’round, they say.

Working outside the mainstream, the adult romantic comedy Knuckle Draggers examines men and women, but mostly men. In particular, how men work in and out of relationships, how they deal with women, and how their attitudes can be shaped by their male friends.

Ethan (Ross McCall) has just been dumped. His beautiful girfriend (Jennifer Alden) is tired of waiting for the life she wants, even though Ethan is working towards a dream she should have long since understood. He’s devastated but his brother Kyle (Paul J. Alessi) sees this as an opportunity to … READ MORE

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Video Interview with Paul J. Alessi and Filmnut

Filmnut – Actor/Producer Paul J. Alessi

Jeff Schubert Host/Producer of Filmnut says, “Award winning Actor/Producer Paul J. Alessi came on to talk about his romantic comedy Knuckle Draggers. I felt like I was talking to an actor from the Sorpranos! Paul was a lot of fun with his New York attitude and telling stories about how his film came together, working with his cast and crew. He is doing a great job of promoting and marketing his film, something that every filmmaker needs to pay attention. There is more product then ever out there and if you’re going to stand out you have to put in the time. We get into that a little and Alessi offers up some websites. The F. Gary Grey story (Grey directing credits include: “Be Cool” “The Negotiator” & “The Italian Job”) alone is worth watching the interview. But lots of other great material including how he auditioned for and got on the CBS reality show “The Amazing Race”… Knuckle Draggers is still on the festival circuit, it will closing the Real Heart Festival in Toronto this Saturday, I’ll announce on the message boards when it’s going to be released, I’m looking forward to it. And Or you can keep up with it here: http://www.knuckledraggersmovie.com/ ”


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