Customer Reviews

Humble Pie

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A wonderful little film that I hope more people hear about. One of those intellectual comedies taking place in small-city America (Utah in this case) with memorable characters and realistic writing. As an FYI I believe when this hit the indie circuit it was called American Fork.

The story follows an extremely overweight adult grocery store clerk who aspires to be an actor and a writer. Unfortunately he is surrounded by the banality of life and untrustworthy souls, with a couple exceptions. One of those exceptions would not be his mother (played in deadpan perfection by Kathy Quinlan; I remember her most from that 4-film rush in 1997 with Zeus & Roxanne, Breakdown, Event Horizon and Lawn Dogs) who acknowledges her son as a loss to humanity, while his isolated sister (24's Mary Lynn Rajskub) attaches herself to the first man who pays attention to her. That man happens to be our main guy's slimy acting teacher played by William Baldwin. Normally I do not rehash plots too much but this film deserves any attention one can muster so hopefully even a small scrip like this will get someone interested. Bruce McGill does a genuine walk-on roll as the clerk's boss, and even in this short role he does much better than he did as a lead in last week's release of Valley of the Heart's Delight. The supplements are great and include:

* 3 featurettes totaling 24:23 minutes. The making-of lasts 9:17 and should be watched by any aspiring crew member as it contains some of the most candid and informative interviews about what it takes to make an independent film. The curtain call supplement has some good info from Hubbell as does the script to screen set. All of the cast interviews are candid and non-fluffy.
* 6 deleted scenes totaling 9:13 minutes. A couple of them helped fill some gaps from the film, but I was saddest to see the National Lampoon's Animal House (30th Anniversary Edition) homage with McGill in one office scene get cut - he sounded like D-Day even if just for a second.

I highly recommend this for those that like the down to earth feel of a low budget independent that has a high budget look filled with solid performances and real outcomes. I almost categorized this in drama, but the very last line of the film blindsides you - I hope it makes you laugh as hard as I did. Nice job crew.

Humble Pie is a charming movie following everyman Tracy Orbison (played by Hubbel Palmer), a Midwestern stockboy who writes poetry during shift breaks and daydreams of making more of himself. A burst of inspiration leads him to take an acting class by a pompous local master (wonderfully played by William Baldwin); then one chaotic mishap after another leads him to actively pursue his life's dreams rather than simply wait for them. From mentoring a young delinquent to standing up to his overbearing mother to dealing with his wallflower sister and preparing himself for the monumental hurdle that is the driver's license exam, Tracy's adventures reflect the daily challenges of life in this highly entertaining drama. Bonus features include deleted scenes and brief featurettes. 84 minutes, closed captioned.

Surprisingly good movie. No one respects or appreciates Tracy Orbison an over weight grocery clerk who lives with his mean mother and his sad sack sister. Life is not that bad from Tracy's point of view but from mine, I just want to jump in there and help the poor young man out. Things go bad for our man and he soon has to take off his rose colored glass's and see the world as it some times is, cold and heartless. Nothing can stop Tracy and he makes the best of what he has to work with, I ended up thinking this was a good guy who would make a great friend. Worth your time, see it.

I want to make this short and to the point. Honestly this is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. If you are fed up with stupid, predictable American movies in which there is a strong idiot who "saves" the world, or everyone covered in blood is running from a "scary monster", then I recommend you watch this movie. I am glad movies like this still exist. Thumbs up.

I should preface this by saying that I tend to be a fan of weird, off-beat movies. In my opinion, "Humble Pie" definitely falls into that category. It is a little weird and quirky, but entertaining.

Hubble Palmer plays Tracy Orbison, an overweight, sad sack who has been working as a stock boy in the same grocery store for around 7 years. He lives with his mousy sister and hyper-critical mother (played by Kathleen Quinlan) and spends his days working at the store, writing poetry in a notebook, and trying to pass his driver's test for the umpteenth time. In an attempt to change his life, Tracy enrolls in a community acting class taught by a pompous, unknown actor (played by William Baldwin).

The film has a few laughs, although I found it more on the sad or somber side. It's one of those movies I like to watch when I'm feeling a little down on myself. I suppose one could say it's a success/underdog story in the sense that Tracy--despite receiving a TON of negative feedback from the other characters--doesn't lose hope, but keeps trying and believing in himself. His efforts pay off as he overcomes several challenges and eventually triumphs. Good acting and worth seeing at least once.

Chris Bowman's "Humble Pie" has many of the hallmarks of the standard indie comedy: a misfit protagonist, quirky subsidiary characters, a small town setting, and a flat, ironic tone.

Hubbel Palmer, who wrote the screenplay, stars as Tracy Orbison, an overweight nerd who compensates for his loneliness and sadness by stuffing his face pretty much nonstop throughout the course of the day. His life, however, begins to look up when he enrolls in an acting class taught by an unctuous, second-rate actor, played winningly by Stephen Baldwin (whose acting is very much in the style of his brother, Alex's). He also befriends a group of local youths who pretend to welcome him into their gang. However, dark clouds are never far from Tracy's horizon, and soon he's been betrayed by the teacher and lured into a life of crime by his new-found compatriots.

"Humble Pie" wanders into some surprisingly unsettling and discomfiting areas for a comedy, even a dark one. It's not everyday, for instance, that your main character is accused - even if unjustly - of child molestation. Still, I like the chances the movie takes with its characters and its world, and Hubbell engages our sympathy and empathy throughout. The movie also features "24'"s Mary Lynn Rajskub as Tracy's levelheaded but almost equally socially awkward sister.

It's more tone-piece than out-and-out uproarious comedy, but "Humble Pie" leaves us satiated in the end.

The movie was quirky. Tracy Orbison (what's in a name?) is obese. People take advantage of him because he desires companionship and can't get it. He has a mom who wants her wall flower daughter to get married and have children, but when she gets a boy friend (Tracy's acting coach who plays the field) she openly prays to God to help her promiscuous daughter. Why does every Indie film have to have wall flowers? Tracy has been working 11 years as a stock boy, then gets promoted to assistant manager only to find out everyone is already and assistant manager, it is just a feel good title, like Walmart Associate. The action is slow, but steady. The plot is simple with no real surprises, at times boring. The movie is humorous, but not laugh out loud funny. Acting superb.

I got this because it sounded interesting due to the blurb & synopsis.

If you like watching ordinary people, a.k.a. your own life, then you'll like this movie.
Frankly, I found it slow, but everybody did a great job considering the minuscule budget.

The best part of this movie was watching Tracey go from being an introverted dweeb to an extroverted one.
Thankfully, it was terse.

The only scene I laughed at was when he picked on the handicapped person.
She deserved it.

This is a good movie to watch to hone your acting skills.

I am not procuring any of the previews / movies shown on this DVD.
They will be just as ZZZ.