2008, USA
Drama, Romance
READ THE REVIEW AT The Desert Sun.
Extended version:
In the late 1970's, both Star Wars and Lyme disease are hot in the Long Island neighborhood where teen Scott Bartlett resides. Derick Martini directs his first film, Lymelife, which was developed in the Sundance Filmmaker's Lab. The film carefully follows the indie breadcrumbs into the misery that is suburbia.
Scott pines for the girl next door, lets his older brother fight his battles and watches as his parent's marriage disintegrates just as he is trying to learn the ropes of romance. Rory Culkin (Mean Creek) is appropriately moody in the starring role, playing opposite older kin Kieran Culkin (missing on screen since co-starring with Rory in 2002's Igby Goes Down). The Culkin family (which includes Home Alone lost boy Macaulay) knows a little something about family drama, and the two work well as siblings who care about one another yet are determined to maintain their own identities.
Behind the scenes, brothers Derick and Steven Martini shared writing and editing duties, with Derick splitting off to direct while Steven produced and composed. More Hollywood familial ties may be seen through Julia Roberts' niece Emma Roberts (Nancy Drew), who plays Scott's ambiguous love interest Adrianna and is quickly rising as an adolescent star. The door to fame may have been opened by her familiar big grin, but she is earning her way into meatier roles such as this not usually reserved for teen queens.
In the film, Adrianna's father (Timothy Hutton) is inflicted with Lyme disease and is constantly haunted by a ringing in his ears and a menacing deer in his yard. During his recovery, his wife (Cynthia Nixon) supports the family by working at the office of Scott's father (Alec Baldwin), a real estate king looking to the future of planned suburbia. As Adrianna's mom and Scott's dad find passion in and out of the shadows, Scott's mom (Jill Hennessy) dreams of a happier life once had in Queens. No one is satisfied; everyone is miserable.
Such is the template of the moody indie, rife with troubles and hormones. As the kids watch their parents fall apart, their only future desire is not to become second generation clones, much like the lifeless cookie-cutter housing that Scott's father designs. As Scott tries booze, pot and sex, he hits all of the adolescent turning points in one swift swing. Yet the experiences are eclipsed by the turmoils of the surrounding adults who steal the limelight as they excel at making grander mistakes.
Lymelife stars a talented cast not utilized to their full capabilities and uses a script not fully fleshed out to its best intentions. The trademark signs are all there -- the dismal choices, the abuse, the carelessness, the coming-of-age speedbumps -- with the only unique feature being Lyme disease. And the tics from a tick can only be blamed for so much as the 'burbs lay in ruins.