Product Details

• Actors: William H. Macy, Cheryl Hines
• Format: Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Anchor Bay
• DVD Release Date: July 28, 2009
• Run Time: 80 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0021L8UIU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,093 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Bart Got a Room" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Bart Got a Room isn’t the first movie comedy about nerds, high school, and the senior prom, and it undoubtedly won’t be the last. It may not be the best, either, but writer-director Brian Hecker’s 2008 concoction has enough laughs, charm, amusingly-drawn characters, and winning performances to more than hold its own. For Danny Stein (Steven J. Kaplan), a high school student in Hollywood, Florida, the imminence of the prom is the source of considerable distress; even more distressing is the prospect of booking of a hotel room for himself and his date at the end of the evening. Problem is, Danny (who’s a bit of a schlub, but far from a total, like, loser), doesn’t have a date yet. The obvious choice is his “best friend” Camille (Alia Shawkat), who’s available and clearly interested, but Danny thinks he can do better--say, with Alice (Ashley Benson), the sophomore hottie who drives to school with him every day. Wrong. As the days, then the hours, dwindle down, Danny, whose parents’ separation is an added distraction (William H. Macy and Cheryl Hines are perfect as Ernie, who’s looking for love on the internet, and Beth, who has a new beau), realizes he’s in big trouble, not least because even the titular Bart--a geek so geeky he makes Danny look like Tom Cruise--already has the room thing covered. All of this plays out in ways that are neither surprising nor especially hilarious, but the movie has heart, not to mention a number of cute, quirky scenes (many involving Danny’s well-intentioned, but mostly clueless, family). Movies like Bart Got a Room aren’t really about the destination, anyway; they’re about the journey, and this one’s a fun ride. --Sam Graham

Stills from Bart Got a Room (Click for larger image)

Product Description

Genre: Comedy
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 28-JUL-2009
Media Type: DVD

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bart Got A Room, But Danny Got A Moment That Lasted Forever!, July 27, 2009

By 

J. B. Hoyos (Chesapeake, VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bart Got a Room (DVD)

(What's this?)

Brian Hecker wrote and directed "Bart Got A Room," which is filmed in his lovely hometown of Hollywood, Florida. In fact, numerous scenes were shot around locales which were familiar to him as a child. This film is very autobiographical in that Hecker based it on memories of his senior prom as well as the proms of his friends and relatives. Watching this film made me think of my own prom and I wished it had turned out as wonderful as it did for Danny Stein (Steven Kaplan).

"Bart Got a Room" is a warmhearted, bittersweet drama of a young man, Danny who must make numerous decisions concerning his upcoming prom. The most important decision involves who will be his date. He's torn between taking someone with whom he can become romantically intimate and his best friend Camille (Alia Shawkat). In the meantime, his parents' divorce weighs heavily on his mind. Danny is a good kid. He yearns to see his parents (perky Cheryl Hines and downtrodden William H. Macy both looking silly in wigs) get back together so they can become a real family. My heart ached for him. Danny finds his parents' choice for dates nauseating. I found them hilarious (especially Jennifer Tilly who has a cameo as a freak). Hines is looking for a man with good financial assets while Macy, who repulses his dates, is looking for a woman with good "assets" of a different kind. Both of them seem lonely without each other.

"Bart Got a Room" is also an inspirational drama that teaches us to be ourselves. You can't plan for a special moment to happen. You have to let it happen on its own, and hope that it lasts forever. So what if the class dweeb got a room at the prom, Danny got a memory that lasted forever. He realized what was truly important in life. It had been staring at him in the face all along.

The highly talented Stephen Kaplan shines as the adorable Danny. It is hard to believe that "Bart Got A Room" is his first role in a motion picture. Alia Shawkat is wonderful as Camille. She starred in another prom movie - "Prom Wars" - and the Christmas comedy "Deck the Halls" with Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick.

Anchor Bay Entertainment did a wonderful job with the audio, video and widescreen presentation of 1.85:1; English subtitles have also been provided. Instead of full-length audio commentary, there is a pop-up production notebook. During the film, handwritten notes of interest suddenly appear in large bubbles. Many of them are hilarious and interesting but you must be a fast reader because they quickly disappear. I learned much about director Brian Hecker from reading them.

"Bart Got A Room" is highly recommended viewing for those who enjoy inspirational comedies such as "Last Chance Harvey" and "Henry Poole Is Here," which have also been released by Anchor Bay. These movies make you laugh at other people's foibles and peculiarities while taking note of your own. At the end of the film, you will be a better person than you were at the beginning.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent teen comedy, filled with heart & angst & laughs!!, July 29, 2009

By 

Scott Rose "Computer Geek" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bart Got a Room (DVD)

Wow, this is the prom movie that all the other "teen prom comedies" tried to make but failed. While every other prom movie focuses on nudity and raunchy sexual jokes, this movie takes the entire genre to a new level by actually portraying the TRUE angst and the TRUE sexual frustration and the TRUE comedy that takes place when you're a high school student desperately trying to get laid (or just trying to get a date) on prom night.

Anybody who lived through the traumas of high school will completely relate to the honest & real & smart characters in this film... with a moral to the story that will blow you away and leave you thinking about this film for weeks afterwards. I loved this movie so much that I saw it twice in theaters.

Plus, I should also mention that this movie isn't just about prom night -- but it also parallels the struggles between children looking for love, and divorced parents looking for love. So this movie will appeal to teens and adults alike.

William H. Macy is brilliant and hilarious as always... in fact, this may be one of his best roles to date.

And it was so refreshing to see a movie take place outside of Los Angeles for a change. The quirky use of South Florida as a backdrop throughout the film only heightens the realism and comedy throughout the entire movie.

I can't recommend this movie enough, for comedy lovers of all ages.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars That William H. Macy just knows how to make us laugh., July 9, 2009

By 

Jason Whyte "Too Many Films, So Little Time" (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bart Got a Room (DVD)

Much of "Bart Got a Room" is going to feel a bit old hat for some, but you know what? Sometimes it's a good old hat, the kind that you just want to keep around despite knowing exactly where it has been. There is much familiarity in the setup of Brian Hecker's debut feature: poor kid can't get a date to the prom, his parents are divorced, and he has a best friend that thinks it would be funny if they went together. Reading this, at first you would probably think the movie doesn't have much to offer, and would rather spend your money on seeing whatever Kate Hudson or Renee Zellweger are up to this weekend at the box office.

Slowly but surely, this indie gem has something great up its sleeve: the characters develop into three dimensions, the comic devices take us into new, interesting territory and there's an ending that cries so far from what we are led to expect. Not only that, the movie has its references to Blake Edwards and (naturally) Woody Allen, but this is a springboard for a series of funny and crazy events.

Plus it's one of those indie pictures that have some great talent in front of the camera. William H. Macy, Cheryl Hines, Jennifer Tilly and a promising newcomer named Steven J. Kaplan who will no doubt become a star.

The title character is not named Bart (more on that later) but rather Danny (Steven J. Kaplan) who is nice enough, smart enough and -- from a heterosexual writer's perspective, for what it's worth -- good looking enough, but poor Danny just can't get a date to the prom. His friend Camille (Alia Shawkat) wants to go as friendly company and to have a friend to spend time with, but Danny has his eyes on a few other potentials, including a strawberry blonde who he chauffeurs every now and then.

To make matters worse, Danny's dealing with the divorce of his parents Ernie (William H. Macy) and Beth (Cheryl Hines) who both try to stay in Danny's life. It probably also doesn't help matters that they are living in Hollywood, Florida. If any of you saw Larry Clark's film "Bully", also set in the same town, you might remember that in this Hollywood, dreams go to die. Or to get replaced by a plastic flamingo sitting next to your swimming pool full of stray golf balls.

At a scant 78 minutes, "Bart Got a Room" is funnier, has a great sense of place and time and is more honest than most of the comedy films with ten times the budget. It wears its charm on its sleeve and isn't afraid to make us laugh at moments that are refreshingly honest as well as way out there. In one bizarre sequence that just barely gets away with it, Ernie tests the noise level of his new apartment just in case Danny wants to bring his date "home". An old lady in the apartment building appears in the corner of the frame as Ernie tests the volume "From one to ten", but the old lady isn't the joke. The joke is that Ernie sure loves his son no matter what.

Consider even a later scene with Ernie, who is so bent on getting Danny a date for the prom that he ditches a date (with a character played by the gorgeous Jennifer Tilly...she's nearing 50, people!), runs halfway across Hollywood and winds up picking an older and slightly oversized prostitute for Danny to take to the big dance. You may not know what you're doing Ernie, but at least your heart is in the right place.

I mention Ernie so much because, ladies and germs, William H. Macy needs no introduction. You already know him, love him and admire his craft as an actor, and I loved his wacky jew-fro, childlike demeanor in his eyes and yet he has a real soft spot for his ex, despite their separation. Macy is matched well by Steven J. Kaplan, simply terrific as the conflicted son. He was carefully selected by Brian Hecker for his natural talent, of course, but when I met Brian at a screening at the Victoria Film Festival screening, there was a divine visual similarity.

Sure, "Bart Got a Room" is a great comedy, it's funny with big laughs, but as I wrote about before, things don't exactly happen in the way we think they're going to and it is wonderful, just wonderful on how it does things in an honest manner. The film is not about whether Danny and his best friend get together romantically - nor Danny's parents for that matter -- and I really admired how the film side stepped what could have been a romantic cliché and ends on a note of surprising hope for all four of the leads. The end credits roll, and their life continues for the better. And so does ours as we leave the theater.

Note: And that Bart, by the way? He's an illusion, a character we don't see through the whole film, and when we finally do, it's a whammy. And stay for those credits.

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