A Cool, Dry Place (1999)

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

I recently saw this movie and I was not expecting it to be a good movie since it was given 2 1/2 stars and since Vince Vaughn I felt was an over-rated actor who is in the spotlight for more of his personal life than his acting. I actually liked this film and I thought that the acting was superb especially Vince Vaugn and the little boy who played his 5 year old son Calvin. Vince Vaughn played the part of a devoted, hardworking single father whose life is on the up again with the possibility of a better job at a top rated firm, new girlfriend when his wife who unexpectedly left him and his child 18 months ago suddenly reappeared into his life. He is confused and not sure whether he wants to have a relationship with his wife whom he sees is trying to be a part of their son's life or be with Joey Lauren's Adams character since it is a budding romance and there is much uncertainty.The theme of this film is simple but may hold true to a lot of people who thinks that their life would be much better if they had the dream job and failing to see that what they have currently is ideal too. The protagonist realized that when he had to make the life changing decision whether he should take the Dallas job which would mean that he would not be able to take care of his son or settle with his current job at the small town law firm in Kansas. He also learned not to blame his son for his career not moving in the direction that he wanted it to be. Once again, the acting was superb and the theme is something I feel that many people will be able to relate to which is to appreciate what you have and don't blame other people if your life don't turn out the way that you imagine. This is a film resonate with me and that I will definitely see it again. This is Vince Vaughn best acting work since I think that he got away from the dramatic role for more of the slapstick type of comedy. I think that Vaughn is a better acting in my eyes from seeing this film.

Our daughter came to visit and brought the DVD with her. She recently found out that a friend of hers wrote the book that this movie is based on, so we all settled in this Sunday afternoon, in our own cool, dry place, the living room, and watched it.I was particularly pleased with the performance of Vince Vaughn as Russell Durrell, attorney and single dad that settled in a small, semi-rural community to work and raise his 5 year old son. By all indications he was doing a good job. We don't find out much about mom until a bit later, but she is alive and well, sort of.Monica Potter, Cleveland native and blonde Julia Roberts look-alike is Kate Durrell, the mom who apparently left almost two years earlier and never came back. The son, Calvin (cute Bobby Moat) doesn't even remember her.The love triangle is completed by Joey Lauren Adams as Beth Ward, young and interesting local girl who is divorced and has a younger brother living at home with her. He happens to be a basketball player on the high school team that Russ is coaching temporarily.So, the movie is pretty good, it is about Russ and Calvin trying to make it in spite of the difficulties.SPOILERS FOLLOW. Mom shows up, Russ thinks she might want to get back together, he still loves her, but she admits she never loved him and has someone else. She didn't say as much, but we assume she is there partly to get a divorce. Russ decides to take a big job in Dallas, do courtroom work that he misses, and let young Calvin stay with gramps. But mom takes Calvin to her sister in Cincinnatti, Calvin is scared, Russ realizes family is more important than the job, and turns down the Dallas job, he and Calvin go back to the small town.

I'm normally not too much a fan of American romantic drama's, because too often they are sweeter than syrup. If I want to watch such a drama, I usually go for European ones. While the American movies try too hard to create an atmosphere that is supposed to make you cry, the Europeans don't use that trick at all and often succeed in it better than their American colleagues. However, because this was a movie with a different approach to the interaction between a career driven man and his kid, I decided to give it a try.Russell Durrell is a single father who has to combine his job as an attorney with the education of his five year old son Calvin and his job as a high school basketball coach. Since his wife left him a few years ago in Chicago, he lives with his son in a small town in Kansas. Just as he starts to develop a new relationship with a veterinarian's assistant, his ex suddenly reappears. So far she has only called once in a couple of months to hear how her son was doing, but now she wants to renew her bond with Russell and their son. This causes a lot of problems of course and to make things even more complicated, he is also offered the job of his dreams in Dallas. Will he be the career driven guy who leaves everything and everyone behind or will he stay and forget about his career?Like I said, I gave this movie a try only because it offered a new approach to a familiar subject. I guess there must be thousands of (TV)-movies that deal with a similar story (sometimes based on true events, sometimes purely fictional), so that doesn't always make it easy to like a movie for its special story or quality. And now that I've seen this movie, I have a double feeling about it. Sure, it was OK and offered some decent drama, but it never got to a higher level than all the other movies in the genre. The acting is OK, without being excellent, the story could have been a lot worse, but isn't all that special... It's just another, predictable Hollywood drama that offers nothing to really look forward to.I guess "A Cool, Dry Place" will be loved most by the female audience. Vince Vaughn isn't exactly the greatest actor ever, but what he does is OK and I know that many women like to look at him. Add to this a story that offers a single dad who loves his little boy more than his career and their heart starts melting away in an instant. Personally I wasn't very convinced by this movie. It could have been a lot worse, but it was far from a masterpiece. Still, it's watchable and that's why I give this movie a 6/10.

Russell Durrell (Vince Vaughn) moves to rural Kansas with his son Calvin after getting fired as a trial lawyer in Chicago. His wife Kate (Monica Potter) abandoned them leaving the family shattered. Russell got a job working for his school friend and is coaching the high school basketball team. Noah is one of his troubled players. Russell starts going out with Noah's older sister Beth Ward (Joey Lauren Adams). Their lives are further complicated when Kate shows up.This is like Kramer vs Kramer but it doesn't have the same touching emotions. The kid is rather bratty and bitter. It's not unreasonable but it's off-putting. The movie tries to give him some humor with the female anatomy but it doesn't really work. Vaughn has the same feel. The three leads are great. It might be useful to see what happened in Chicago. Something is wrong with this movie but it's nothing glaring.