The Discoverers

2012

Comedy

0
IMDb Rating 5.7 10 533

Plot summary



November 07, 2022 at 03:00 AM

Director

Justin Schwarz

Top cast

Ann Dowd as Patti
Cara Buono as Nell
John C. McGinley as Bill Birch
Griffin Dunne as Lewis Birch
720p.WEB
959.99 MB
1280*694
English 2.0
NR
24 fps
1 hr 44 min
P/S ...

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by badland 6 / 10

A family in pieces

It's not a bad little movie, good performances from all, its a story about a messed up family that's trying to find something in their lives among each other. The other review didn't like the "f...word, but that's a reality in today's movie unless you just watch Hallmark movies, of which I know well, since I've done two of them.

The story revolves around the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1803-1805 (I might be a year off). Actually I'm a Lewis and Clark fan, I've driven in many areas that the first Americans explored even though the French-Canadians were all over the place.

The interesting part of the movie is the real story of Lewis and Clark, and of the slave York, who figures in this story as his position among the others wasn't all that great.

A sub-story is about the thousand-page book that the Griffin Dunne character wrote about the Lewis and Clark expedition which the publishers cancelled,due to size and another book from the slave, York.

It's good for history buffs and also those who like mixed up family stories, I watched the entire movie.

Reviewed by RNMorton 8 / 10

Teenagers!

This is a nice little gem I just discovered on cable. It features Griffin Dunne, the hapless (and ever-present) victim from American Werewolf in London. He's an out of luck professor struggling to get by and see his 6,000 page epic on Lewis and Clark's expedition published by someone. Divorced, he plans to take his two teenage kids to the Pacific when family troubles interfere. This is fun slice-of-life, Dunne maintains (usually) his composure among all the troubles he faces, including flak from his teenage daughter (marvelously played by Martin) and distracted teenage son. Into the mix steps Cara Buono, of Beer League, to ease his pain. I'll watch Cara in almost anything and she is great in this. Stuart Margolin (Angel from The Rockford files) plays Dunne's dysfunctional dad. The highlight is the kids' forced march on a "discovery trek", but the movie as a whole works well with a nice wrap.

Reviewed by vze29r3v 9 / 10

Wonderfully-woven tale by First-Timer Justin Schwarz

Writer-Director Justin Schwarz gives us a wonderful gift for his first feature in "The Discoverers." The movie follows the plight of Lewis Birch (played wonderfully by Oscar-Nominee Griffin Dunne), a recently separated father of two, trying to recapture his past literary and scholarly glory.

A road trip with his new-age, vegetarian daughter (Madeleine Martin) and his rebellious son Jack (Devon Graye) to a major literary conference to promote the release of his upcoming book - that he is still struggling to finish - is put on hold after he received a distressed phone-call from his brother Bill Birch (a nice cameo by John C. McGinley) relaying that his mother is very ill.

It is revealed very early on that his mother had indeed passed, and it is up to Lewis to make all the arrangements. Shortly thereafter, the doctor relays to him that his father Stanley Birch (Stuart Margolin) is in no mental condition to be alone.

Soon, Lewis and his two children are following Stanley on a Lewis and Clark re-enactment trek. You can imagine the drama that ensues from there. Emmy-Nominee Cara Buono is absolutely charming as Nell, one of the re-en-actors, who seems to fancy Lewis. Dreama Walker also gives a notable performance as Abigail, a daughter of one of the re-en-actor's, who takes up a romance with Jack.

But, Schwarz - along with Dunne's fine performance - are the glue that holds this interesting and entertaining movie together. It's a wonderful first-time feature for Schwarz, and I would highly recommend it. It's currently in a plat-formed select theatrical release, and if it hits your city, it's well worth the price of admission.

Read more IMDb reviews

No comments yet

Be the first to leave a comment