Summer Sleeper Films
American Splendor The winner of this year's Sundance Grand Jury Prize celebrates the proudly pessimistic comic-book author (and EW contributor) Harvey Pekar, played by Paul Giamatti. (Footage of the real Pekar, his wife, Joyce Brabner, and their motley crew of friends is also sprinkled in, as are cartoon segments based on the author's comics.) Neurotic and unglamorous, Pekar is an untraditional film hero -- which, it seems, is what crowds have found so appealing. ''He's the opposite of celebrity,'' says Hope Davis, who plays Brabner. ''The fact that he's so real and so not polished is very attractive.'' Opens Aug. 15 in New York City, L.A., and Cleveland; arrives in other cities over the next several weeks.
Camp Writer-director Todd Graff's musical comedy came and went relatively quietly at Sundance, but the kitschy little picture about a fictional summer camp for musical-theater junkies has benefited from warm reviews and great word of mouth in its initial New York City run; it's now opening around the country.
The Magdalene Sisters After screening at the 2002 Venice Film Festival, Scottish director Peter Mullan's controversial drama set in the 1960s was condemned by the Vatican. But the film, about the brutal treatment of ''wayward'' girls in Ireland's Catholic Magdalene Asylums, took home the Golden Lion Award anyway. After a strong opening in New York City and L.A., it's headed for more cities.
The Secret Lives of Dentists After such megaduds as ''Investigating Sex'' and ''Trixie,'' few people were holding their breath for director Alan Rudolph's next project, an adaptation of Jane Smiley's ''The Age of Grief.'' But the movie, starring Campbell Scott and the busy Hope Davis as a dentist couple on the brink of a breakup, opened to positive reviews and an impressive $10,000 per-screen average. Now playing in New York City, L.A., and Chicago; expands into the fall.
Swimming Pool François Ozon's first English-language film, a sensual whodunit (or is it a did-anyone-do-it?) set in the lush, sun-drenched south of France, debuted at Cannes in May to positive reviews -- most notably for the spot-on performances of Charlotte Rampling and Ludivine Sagnier (both Ozon vets). The understated thriller has grossed a magnifique $5.3 million. Now open around the country.
Thirteen What do 13-year-olds really do after school? Plenty, according to this gritty drama about precocious barely teen girls who drink, steal, and sex their way through junior high. Cowritten by a then-13-year-old Nikki Reed (who costars with Evan Rachel Wood and Holly Hunter), the movie scored a near $2 million distribution deal with Fox Searchlight at Sundance, and won director Catherine Hardwicke a best-director prize. Opens in New York City Aug. 20 and Los Angeles Aug. 22, with other cities to follow in September.
(This is an online-only excerpt from the cover story of Entertainment Weekly's Aug. 15, 2003, issue.)
