Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Whether we want to admit it or not (I certainly do), anyone who's in a nowhere job wants to break out and follow their passion. "Pipe Dream", a small, quirky, rom-com indie, notes that.A NYC plumber, David Kulovic (Martin Donovan of "Saved" and "The Haunting in Connecticut) feels invisible, being fault of the city's working class and mistreated by the power elite. After being invited to the casting office of a childhood friend, RJ (Kevin Carroll), and being "wowed" by the sexy actresses who audition there, David decides to break the dividing line by pretending to be a filmmaker in order to meet some of said thespians in audition sessions. Quite the cad… He needs samples from a script, and the only scribe David knows is fellow tenant/one night stand Antonia "Toni" Edelman (sweet, smart Mary-Louise Parker of "Weeds" and "Red"), who works as a copywriter at an equities firm, a day job she despises. Finding common ground (despite a theft issue), David, RJ and Toni set up the film production of "Pipe Dream", an odd indie comedy that attracts a naive wannabe producer who puts up the budget; Hollywood power brokers and Toni's co-worker, Marliss Funt, (Rebecca Gayheart, "Urban Legend") who charms David and gets the lead female role. Toni's jealously and David's on-the-sly filmmaking skills complicates things to hilarious results.There have been a lot of "inside the entertainment biz" films, yet "Pipe Dreams" has a down-to-earth charm because it's about creative people trying to get in the "door". Though his direction's isn't too distinguished, helmer John C. Walsh has knitted a nice, durable script with co-scribe Cynthia Kaplan (who appears as an talent agent's secretary), echoing the screwball romantic comedies of the 1930s and 1940s with some modern sitcom elements.Donovan's sly underdog pairs well with Parker's straightforward, intellectual spunk; they carry the film. Everyone else's competent, but I really liked actress/writer Guinevere Turner ("The Notorious Bettie Page", "Chasing Amy" and "Dogma") as a snarky talent agent. Jill Hennessey ("Law & Order", "Crossing Jordan") has a nice cameo as an established thespian.If you have dreams of fame and prosperity, watch "Pipe Dream" on a weekend afternoon and be inspired. You'll chuckle, too.

"Pipe Dream", directed by John Walsh with a screen play by Cynthia Kaplan presents us with the amusing premise that anyone can direct a film if one puts one mind's to it, or if the hype behind it makes it a "hot property". The film is a satirical study of the people behind the movie making deals.We are presented with a plumber, David, whose job is perceived as such an unimportant one in comparison to the glamorous jobs in the movie business, even if it's an Indie that even Robert Redford might be interested in producing himself. David, the plumber, after spending a night with Toni Edelman in her apartment, overhears her giving a review of his performance to a girlfriend. He doesn't like what he hears! After all, he considers himself a good lover. How can he get dates with a lot of young and attractive women?, well, make believe one is a film director in search of stars for his movie.David takes the matter into his own hands and with the help of his friend, a casting director, he makes up a non existing film based on the script he steals from Toni. Little does Toni knows what's going on behind her back until she finds out. In the meantime, all the hip talent agencies are running amok because suddenly "Pipe Dream", the still 'pipe dream' of a film, is becoming the project that everyone wants to be involved in.Martin Donovan, as David, and Mary-Louise Parker, as Toni, make a delightful pair at the center of the story. Both performers are good at playing comedy, something that Mr. Donovan doesn't get to do often because we always tend to see him portraying intense characters. On the other hand, Ms. Parker is such an accomplished actress, she can do anything at all. The rest of the cast is excellent.The film is a lot of fun that could have used a different resolution, but we feel good spending the hour and a half in the company of a lot of talented young actors, most of them based in New York.

I was switching channels late one night when I came around "Pipe Dream" with Mary-Louise Parker and Martin Donovan. The plot, frankly is just a little out of the ordinary. Donovan plays a plumber who poses as a director to meet woman and Parker plays the writer who script he steals to help make the movie. It's an good plot but what puts it into another level is the amazing chemistry between Mary-Louise Parker and Martin Donovan. They work so seamlessly together that I wondered if they had a relationship in real life!It's a very sweet understated comedy with excellent performances by the leads. If you want to see these two in another comedy, watch the movie "Saved."

"Pipe Dream" tells a simple tale of a plumber (Donovan) who falls in like with a screen writer (Parker) and, using her script for phony movie auditions as a way to meet babes, ends up directing an indie which may just be the next big thing. Like so much tofu, "Pipe Dream" is bland, light, reasonably palatable, and isn't likely to win any awards for its food group. An easy-going, good natured flick with little to fault and little to praise, "Pipe Dream" makes for an enjoyable though forgettable 90 minute watch. (B-)