Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.
Mulligans (2008) Directed by Chip Hale Written by Charlie David
Mulligansn. A mulligan, in golf, happens when a player gets a second chance to perform a certain move or action.
Chase Reynolds (Charlie David) is spending the summer with his best friend Tyler Davidson (Derek Baynham), where they will be working on the golf course, paying off student loans. The Davidsons are a wonderful upscale family. Dad Nathan (Dan Payne) is a golfer. Mom Stacy (Thea Gill) is a professional mom. That's not a stay at home mom; she is way beyond that. And Birdie (Grace Vukovic) is a precocious and eerily insightful eight year old. (Pay attention; everything Birdie says has significance.)
The Davidsons are a sweet family; they are still young; teen pregnancy has a way to do that. But as things move forward, we learn a few things...
One, Tyler is a walking gland with all the subtlety of an erection in speedos. Two, Birdie has seen her friend Jeffery's penis. That means the end of swimming lessons. And Mom is definitely not ready for her little girl to grow up. Three, Nathan uses golf to gain some distance from Stacy. Four, Stacy is not unemployed; she has a full career being the guardian of perfection. Birdie goes through Swimming, Tennis and Golf lessons in fairly short order. "Mom doesn't like that I saw a penis so I'm going to start playing tennis." The key here is if there is a problem, they split, and come heck or high water, Birdie will be taking some sort of lesson. And Five Chase is gay.
When he tells Tyler (mostly to stop the latter's efforts to get him laid) Tyler freaks, but does pretty good at wrapping his stunted little brain around it, and off they go.
There are awkward moments, but things roll forward.
Tyler Davidson: I love you man, like a brother... just... Chase Rousseau: I know, no sword fights. [pause] I love you too. Tyler Davidson: Maybe we can find a more macho way of saying it... Chase Rousseau: ...Go Steelers? Tyler Davidson: Yeah, Go Steelers, I like that. Go Steelers. Wow I never said I love you to a guy before. Chase Rousseau: Me either. Tyler Davidson: Good talk.
Of course, Chase is not the only person who is gay. And as Nathan struggles with his feelings, Chase sensual presence does not exactly help the situation. And it only gets worse when Tyler outs his friend to his dad.
And one thing leads to another, as these things tend to do and when the rest of the family is off to Grandma's house, Nathan and Chase...well, you know.
It is a revelation for both of them. But it is the nature of secrets to come out, and this one does not stay under wraps for long.
Think of all the various ways the fecal matter can splatter off these rotating blades.
The sex here is very brief (and totally discrete. PG, really), the drama is what lingers.
When you have a drama that centers totally on what is going on inside peoples heads, it tends to be a slow paced, subdued production. Dan Payne is really a master of staring at nothing, his mind a million miles away. It runs the risk of being boring, but he brings pathos to it that saves it from mediocrity.
But the real stand out performance here is Thea Gill as Stacey. Stacey is the Gatekeeper, trying to keep everything perfect; the perfect class to enrich her daughter, with out spoiling the perfection of her childhood. The perfect meal, the perfect dinner conversation. Avoid anything that might ruffle the perfect family.
But as she faces up to the realities of the life she chose, and she did choose it, she knew, deep down, she knew. And as the movie progresses she changes. She turns into a real person.
Tyler quoted her as saying "I'm fine means I'm Fragile, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional." But as she is allowed to abandon the role of Gatekeeper, she blooms.
This movie is a quiet little gem. It is a little too reasonable to be a masterpiece, but it is a fine example of an emotional study.
A closet is no place to grow. But coming out has its own consequences. And doing so with your child's best friend is rarely a good idea (Class, The Graduate).
But it still manages to give a wonderful example of how people SHOULD act, and it manages to be charming doing it.
A Mulligan is a do over; it is an act of forgiveness. And that is what this story is really all about. After mistakes are made, can you forgive the people who made them?
This is not a masterpiece. Charlie David (Chase) wrote and starred in it. It is interesting that his character is not the focus of the story, just the catalyst. It is a little stilted. It could have used more sex. It could have used more violence (of emotion) in the wake of the discovery. But it charms and warms the heart.
So maybe it is not perfect. I think they earned a Mulligan.
When Tyler Davidson brings his college buddy, Chase, home for the summer holidays a secret is revealed that threatens to tear his perfect family apart...More at HotMovieSale.com
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