Diggers (2007)
Runtime: 90 mins
Theatrical Release: Apr 27, 2007 Limited
Synopsis: DIGGERS combines humor and pathos in a bittersweet story about a tightly-knit cluster of friends, all of whom are forced to embrace change as their small-town way of life is soon to be altered forever. It’s September 1976 on the south shore of Long Island. Ads on the TV in the local bar... DIGGERS combines humor and pathos in a bittersweet story about a tightly-knit cluster of friends, all of whom are forced to embrace change as their small-town way of life is soon to be altered forever. It’s September 1976 on the south shore of Long Island. Ads on the TV in the local bar announce “a change coming over America” with the upcoming Ford-Carter presidential election, but local clam diggers are more worried about losing their already-fragile trade to an encroaching corporation. Like his father and grandfather before him, Hunt (Paul Rudd) is a digger, but one with a restless, imaginative side exemplified by the black-and-white Polaroids he takes. Hunt’s lifelong buddies and fellow diggers include Frankie Lozo (Ken Marino), a brash father struggling to support five kids and his longsuffering but spunky wife, Julie (Sarah Paulson); laid-back local ladies’ man Jack (Ron Eldard); and philosophy-spouting pot dealer Cons (Josh Hamilton). A sudden death propels the four best friends to look at their lives, as it does for Hunt’s recently-divorced (and “Hite Report”-reading) older sister, Gina (Maura Tierney), who works as a waitress at the local diner. Meanwhile, Hunt falls for a hip young woman visiting from Manhattan, Zoe (Lauren Ambrose), who wonders why his artistic impulses don’t propel him out of a dead-end town. This rich slice-of-life from America’s not-too-distant past recalls such ‘70s character-driven staples as DINER, THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, and BREAKING AWAY. DIGGERS boasts a knock-out ensemble cast, the emotional sensitivity and outrageous comedy of a screenplay by Ken Marino (writer/producer on David Wain’s forthcoming THE TEN, and co-creator of the legendary MTV show “The State”) and A GOOD BABY director Katherine Dieckmann’s keen sense of period verisimilitude and heartfelt blend of drama and humor. --© Magnolia Pictures [More]
Genre: Comedies
Starring: Lauren Ambrose, Ron Eldard, Josh Hamilton, Ken Marino, Sarah Paulson
Screenwriter: Ken Marino
Producer: Anne Chaisson, Jason Kliot, Joana Vicente
Composer: David Mansfield
DVD Info
Release:
May 1, 2007
DVD Features:
Audio:
- (unspecified) - English
- Subtitles - Spanish - Optional
- Subtitles - English - Closed Captioned
Additional Release Material:
- Audio Commentary - Katherine Dieckmann - Director; Ken Marino - Actor
- Deleted Scenes/Outtakes with Commentary
- Featurette - 1. Higher Definition: Diggers Episode
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
A very detailed portrait of a time and place that is about to change forever. This is a Long Island of 1976 in someone's memory, like a faded Polaroid in an old shoebox.
It is wholly Good. A pity that it doesn't have any real desire to be Great.
The subdued tale is light on plot but heavy on characterization, and the result is a likable effort that benefits greatly from its agreeable cast.
A sweet and charming throwback to the ensemble dramas that fueled the cinema of the 1970s and 80s
A rather drab dramedy that, despite the title and some very real virtues, doesn't really dig deep or true enough.
Digger culture in a moody group portrait that could just as easily have been called Diggaz, it evokes a heady blend of the pungent scent of surf and stinging wind of disappointed dreams.
When you reach the end of the film, you may find yourself wondering whether these minor pleasures amount to anything more substantial and the sad reality is that they really don't.
The larky spirit of camaraderie lingers long after the haze of the film’s many passed joints dissipates.
As befits a heartfelt ode to working-class values, Diggers puts in lots of hard, honest work that finally pays off in a wholly predictable yet unexpectedly moving conclusion.
There are many pleasures to be found in Diggers, and you don't even have to dig for them.
[Manny Lewis] and the rest of an endearing ensemble populate a film that, like their lives, progresses leisurely with a graceful balance of humor and melancholy.
[Director] Dieckmann fails to stage scenes in a compelling manner. Diggers bumps along from trauma to trauma like a clam-digging boat on choppy waters.
No doubt there was hope for a manlier, brinier My Big Fat Greek Wedding. But that had better food -- and better jokes.
Though nothing too earth-shaking happens, the movie is filled with a slew of compelling scenes, strongly performed under director Katherine Dieckmann's discerning eye.
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News
posted by Tim Ryan April 26, 2007
This week at the movies, we've got clairvoyants ("Next," with Nicolas Cage and Julianne Moore), cons...


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