Product Details

• Actors: Brendan Bradley, Matthew Montgomery
• Directors: David Lewis
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: TLA
• DVD Release Date: December 8, 2009
• Run Time: 82 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002SSNFUO
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,065 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #74 in Movies & TV > DVD > Gay & Lesbian
• For more information about "Redwoods" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

REDWOODS - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Like a fine Swiss cheese... flavorful, but full of holes., January 15, 2010

By 

Glenn_from_CT (CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Redwoods (DVD)

Whaddya know... a gay-themed movie where no one comes out, no one is in drag, no one gets beaten up and no one has AIDS. For that alone, "Redwoods" deserves at least a star or two.

The story centers around Everett (Brendan Bradley), a late-20s guy who has found himself in a very comfortable, but horribly static, life in small-town Northern California. His seven-year partnership with Miles (Ted Coughenour) has eroded to that way-too-common place where love (or lack thereof) is expressed by which coupon to use at the store and who will scrub the mold in the shower. The only life left in the relationship is in the form of their son, Billy (Caleb Dorfman), a special needs child who demands much of their attention.

It's clear from the onset that Everett is miserable with the current state of affairs, but his love for Billy prevents him from actually doing or saying anything to the cold and neglectful Miles. So, like many people, he shuts up, puts up and trundles along without rocking the boat.

Miles and Billy leave for a week to visit Miles' parents in Seattle. Right on cue, a handsome stranger appears on Everett's cul-de-sac, hopelessly lost and looking for directions... it's Chase (Matthew Montgomery), a writer from Minnesota who has come to redwood country to get inspiration for his latest novel.

The sparks between Everett and Chase are immediate. Soon, as this is a small town, the inevitable not-so-chance meeting occurs. A friendship grows. Everett becomes more and more conflicted about his feelings for Chase until it all finally uncorks into a fairly well done love scene. Of course, this just makes matters worse for the love-starved Everett... does he abandon everything for true love or do the responsible thing and stick with his existing relationship?

The idea of this film is a tremendous one... I mean, how many people out there have this kind of mid-life crisis, where they question everything they have? And with a better writer (director David Lewis also scripted) "Redwoods" could have been a helluva film.

Unfortunately, Lewis doesn't give us much of screenplay and gets too caught up in the romance of this romance. He expects us to immediately buy into the Chase/Everett affair and not question anything else. And there are a lot of questions here... where did Billy come from exactly? Why is Miles so unaffectionate? If this is such a small town - where everyone knows everyone's business - why would Everett parade Chase around for all to see? Why would he introduce Chase to his family, for heavens sake? How could such a monumental, life-altering, oh-my-god relationship gain full-bloom status in the matter of just a few days? And are either of these guys aware that there's a whole lotta cheatin' going on?

Sure, we can draw our own conclusions, but it would have made for a better film if the characters did it for us. Annoyingly, the script also never really allows anyone to open up and say what's on their mind. Instead we get lots of pauses, lots of drawn-out, ponderous one-line statements, and a lot of nothing being said.

Most of the casting (and subsequent acting) doesn't help. First, Bradley is way too young to play someone in a seven-year relationship and with a ten-year-old kid. Second, he doesn't have the acting chops needed to carry the film. He's likeable - with his cherub face and goofy smile - but most of his deliveries suffer from massive over-elocution, and most of the acting choices he makes are way too deliberate.

Likewise, none of the supporting characters seems to make any sense in this story, and none do anything to really drive things forward. Note to all gay film writers out there: Please, please, PLEASE ditch the straight brother or best friend who uses the word "dude." Please.

The exception here is Montgomery, who is quickly becoming the Meryl Streep of gay indie romances. He knows how to turn in a thoughtful performance and does so here, eking out richness and depth from a script that provides almost nothing for him to work with. Look out for the day that this guy gets a solid script and co-star who can really act.

All this isn't to say that "Redwoods" doesn't have its finer points. Although the analogy between the redwood trees and the theme of the film is insanely weak, the nature footage is lush and beautiful. And if romance is really your thing - and you're the kind of person that doesn't mind chucking reality aside to get your romantic fix - then this film is definitely for you... `cuz kids, this is some serious sweetness devoted to celluloid here. Realists: Run away.

Me, I'm halfway between the two camps. That said, there was one beautifully realized moment in the film that really won me over: while Chase is hanging out with Everett, Miles calls. Everett takes the call and begins chatting, wandering behind the sofa where the patient Chase sits. Absently, Everett puts his hand on Chase's shoulder... a first sign of affection between the two. Everett rubs Chase's shoulder lightly, completely unaware that he's doing it. Why? Because it's the kind of thing he's probably done with his partner of seven years a million times over. This one tiny moment speaks more than any other scene in the movie, showing how comfortable Everett has become with Chase and how absently the two have fallen for each other. Now, if the rest of "Redwoods" was as well-conceptualized, it would have been worthy of a bunch more stars.

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a poignant, wonderful love story!!!, November 30, 2009

By 

D. C. Mappin (South Bend, IN, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Redwoods (DVD)

Where to start?

First off, this is one of the finest gay films I have ever seen! It is romantic, poignant, humorous, uplifting, sad, involving, and a totally thought-provoking, engrossing film that sucks you in from the first scene and does not let the viewer go until the surprisingly haunting ending!

The main character, Everett, is in a long-term go-with-the-flow relationship with his husband Miles. The two of them are raising a young boy and their relationship seems to be in a rut. While Miles and Billy (their son) are away on a family trip, Through chance, Everett meets Chase, a writer who is lost (in more ways than one).

Like the best of Charles Dickens' plot elements, coincidence plays a part in the two meeting not once, but twice and from there a poignant love story evolves and sweeps us, the viewer away.

Everett, a very moral man, yet dissatisfied with where life is leading finally succumbs to his feelings that have been building for Chase throughout the film.

Where he and Miles are a calm center of a storm, Everett (once he gives into his feelings) and Chase are a passionate hurricane! The film builds to a crescendo and leads to a surprising ending that I did not see coming (make sure you have a hankie ready). The acting and directing is awesome. I think this is now my favorite Matthew Montgomery film. He gets better and better with each movie!

Each moment feels honest and true! If this movie is a low budget film, its honesty and serene setting certainly does not show! The small town setting in northern California is beautiful.. the redwood forests seems the perfect setting for such a wondrous love story.

Needless to say, I cannot recommend this film highly enough. Kudos to the cast, its production crew and writer as this is a nearly perfect love story!

But it now! You will not regret it!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LIFE ISN'T ALWAYS FAIR, January 27, 2011

By 

Not a maven (Maryland) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Redwoods (Amazon Instant Video)

Everette and Miles have been partnered for 7+ years and are raising Billy, an autistic child with a love of sailing ships. The spark has obviously gone out of their relationship as all Miles seems interested in is making sure Everett removes the mold from the bathroom ceiling, use cost saving coupons and repair the lawn sprinkler while he and Billy spend some time with Billy's grandparents. Not even a hug or a kiss for Everette when he and Billy leave on their week long trip. A chance encounter with a young writer from Minnesota, Chance (yes, that is his name), who is trying to write a novel loosely based on his life brings Everette and Chance together for one amazing week.

I thought the acting was excellent. Although there are a few gaps in the overall story that are left for the viewer's imagination the outcome of the movie is surprising in this day and age of self-centeredness and personal happiness at the expense of others.

Life isn't always fair. Sometimes we make commitments and then situations change. Billy started out a normal child but became autistic. Everette and Miles' relationship probably started out well and then deteriorated as the stress of life and raising Billy took its toll. Chance had been searching to find his real self and he found it in the redwoods with Everette -- "I'm not lost anymore."

This is a story about love, forgiveness, commitment, and life itself. It is one of the best romance stories I have ever seen.