Wow! Such a good movie.

Great Film overall

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

With dark comedies, the ratio of comedy to darkness is what gives a film its identity. Many modern filmmakers put an emphasis on darkness and disturbing situations like Tarantino ("Pulp Fiction") and the Coen Brothers ("Fargo"), whereas others hail from the old school approach of keeping violence to a minimum and instead drawing humor from the bizarre ways the characters act around it, such as in "Arsenic & Old Lace" (1944) or "Deathtrap" (1982).Here in "Don McKay" we fall squarely into the old school style. There is 1 death early in the film, and the rest of the film is about the mysterious and absurd criss-crossings of schemes from each character whose intentions we don't know until the end. Apologies to Tarantino & the Coens (whose films I really like), but I prefer this sort of approach because, although it may sacrifice thrills & action, it's ultimately a style that you can enjoy on a deeper psychological level.Don McKay (Thomas Hayden Church whom I'll always remember as the lovably slow mechanic in the 80s sitcom "Wings") is a lonely man whose entire life consists of cleaning the floors at a Boston high school. One day he receives a mysterious letter that prompts him to drop everything and hop a bus to his hometown which, by the gorgeous scenery, looks like the Pacific northwest but they're not specific. Once there, he gets wrapped up in murder, mayhem and memories. And although this is not a whodunnit, it becomes a fun mystery as we try to figure out who each character is, including our hero Don McKay, a man of very few words.Thomas Hayden Church is brilliantly cast in the lead role, almost reprising his humorously awkward role in Wings but with a deep, observant intelligence that gives the film depth. As we piece together the bizarre characters & circumstances surrounding the death, we are also hard at work trying to figure out what makes Don McKay tick and why he is apparently running from something. Thus, there are 2 stories unfolding at the same time, and the brilliant (and hilarious!) climactic scene pulls it all together in a way that's tense, funny, enlightening and unmistakably human.And let me dwell on that word for a minute: human. Although we are given no backstory to any of these oddball characters, each one comes across as very human. There are no wooden performances here, unless you count Thomas' deliberately wooden, stoic characterization of Don McKay. Elizabeth Shue absolutely blows this out of the park, playing a complex yet in many ways childlike character whom I can only compare to Vivien Leigh's famous performance in "Streetcar Named Desire". Melissa Leo plays a creepy, uptight nurse who is reminiscent of the demon child's nanny in "The Omen" haha. By the way, observe how her character's clothes & appearance become more frazzled & frenetic in each scene. Keith David, in one of the greatest comic-relief roles since the porter in Shakespeare's Macbeth, plays Don McKay's neurotic childhood friend, the perfect counterbalance to Thomas Hayden Church's emotionless enigma. And there are 2 fantastic bit roles (1) the cab driver played by Emmet Walsh who's been in everything from Blood Simple to Bladerunner; and (2) Pruitt Taylor Vince as "Mel" the dorky crook who looks like he would be more comfortable working at Best Buy than being part of any sort of murder story.I also give major old school points to the director for pulling off some hilarious sight gags. Not corny slapstick but funny visual compositions that had me LOLing (for example when Thomas & Melissa are in a car together, each totally distrusting the other, alternately stealing intense looks without the other person noticing). The final climactic scene with its brilliantly comedic script also had me LOLing, especially "So why don't you just drop the... AXE??" (as if to point out the hilarious note: who keeps an axe in their living room?).If you enjoy subtle situational humor, as in other indie gems like "Buffalo 66", "Grand Theft Parsons" or "The Maiden Heist" (sorry I can't think of any popular films to compare this to, except maybe "Punch Drunk Love"), then don't miss "Don McKay".

Don McKay is an independent drama thriller film starring Thomas Haden Church and Elisabeth Shue together with Melissa Leo,James Rebhorn,Keith David and M. Emmet Walsh.The story is about a about a man who returns to his hometown after receiving a letter from his high school sweetheart,who claims to be dying.It was written and directed by Jake Goldberger. It's been 25 years since Don McKay turned his back on his hometown, and he never imagined he would ever return. But when a letter from his former girlfriend Sonny appears in Don's mailbox, he can't resist visiting his old flame one more time, before her light disappears forever. When Don comes home and realizes that his memories of Sonny don't match up with the woman she is now, it quickly becomes apparent that he harbors a shameful secret from years gone by. Meanwhile, Sonny's doctor and caretaker don't warm quickly to the returning visitor, and a chance run-in suddenly compounds Don's buried secret.The movie had its moments, but it never manages to maintain the consistent tone so crucial if a black comedy is going to actually be funny.Greenberg's tyro script was both dark comedy and slick whodunit and he handled his material and fine cast with a deft hand that belied his freshman status.The cast did very well in this film although they weren't able to elevate it to a better film.Overall,Don McKay entertains just like any other film despite of its label as an independent film.

I went to see "Don McKay" with some friends last night; it wasn't really on my movie radar because there hasn't been a big ad campaign, but it was thoroughly entertaining! I didn't really know what to expect; it appeared to be a thriller and although I would categorize it as that, I was surprised at how funny it was.Seriously, the whole audience seemed to be caught up in the plot - the pace and the twists and turns leave you a little breathless at times, but belly-laughing as well. I'm actually considering seeing it again since it's one of those movies that you might want to re-watch and "look for clues."Thomas Haden Church is perfect as Don the lonely janitor leading a solitary mundane life, pining for his lost love. He has an expressive face that is compelling as he is in turns beguiled, curious, confused, frustrated, and desperate.Elisabeth Shue as Sunny is a complete wackadoo, I don't know how else to put it… she is manipulative to the extreme and it's entertaining to see her in action, turning on the charm and wrapping Don around her finger. She takes full advantage of Don's vulnerability; it seems at times Don is vaguely aware of being played, but is enjoying the attention of this sexy creature so much that he willingly goes along for the ride.Melissa Leo appears as Sunny's uptight and prim caregiver. If you've seen her in other films, just the sight gag of her character is amusing enough, but I daresay that she delivers some of the best lines in the film.There are several character actors whom I recognized as "that guy! I love him - he was so great in…" who fill out the cast. They may not be household names, but you've seen them countless times before. I especially liked Keith David as Otis but they all delivered solid performances.I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but suffice it to say that there is a lot of double-crossing going on. Although the viewer may be wondering what the hell is going on in the middle, everything becomes clear by the final act.

Or maybe this could be subtitled as "the little movie that thought it was good…" …Or maybe I should re-phrase it as, "the little movie that tried too be good," or "the little movie that didn't know what it was"- the list can go on and on. But let's just say if it wasn't for Thomas Haden Church serving as the executive producer in this, the movie wouldn't be where it is now: RELEASED.It starts out mundane when we open with the titled character "Don McKay" (played by Church), doing his unremarkable duties as a high school janitor in Massachusetts (but probably filmed outside of L.A.). From there, he meets his supposed ex-girlfriend played by Elisabeth Shue who is dying from an unexplained condition. And of course, it never occurs to Church to ask why this attractive 40-something is dying when she doesn't even look sick or peaked. Doesn't that seem rather odd? It's weird to begin with in how Church goes up to see her in the first place (because that too, never seems to be explained)- and I don't want to edify the synopsis since this film is so mediocre and forgettable at the get-go. Let's just say that what seems to be somewhat of a quirky and pedestrian indie-film turns to switch to such a violent tone so abruptly, that it looks like two different films we're watching. And it's impossible to care for these characters or root for them in any way. But oh-well… Then there's the recurring theme that Church has lost touch with all of these supporting characters for 25 years. And it's so coincidental that none of these people have lives- or moved on with families since high school- but then that would ruin the whole "plot" to the movie if they did, so we just need to accept this. What galls me is the fact that Church even did this in the first place: his career never really took off after "Sideways," but I've never seen him in a more or equally memorable role since. And he was one of the best things to that film, IMO. Elisabeth Shue does a little more than I've seen her do in most mainstream movies, but there's really nothing likable about her in this (except she wears a slip through a third of the film). I guess I liked Keith David the most who showed more dimensionality than anyone else (and probably had about seven minutes of screen time).I'd just wait for this to come out on DVD. And I STILL wouldn't recommend it unless you absolutely, positively have to watch SOMETHING for 87 minutes.