Available now on Demand and Digital HD from The Orchard is the brand-new romantic comedy drama ANTIQUITIES.
Walt (Andrew J West) returns to his father’s hometown to gain some insight into the man he once was after his death. He decides to take a job at a local antiques mall, where he discovers a whole host of characters who are as dysfunctional and quirky as you get. There’s the effeminate Jimmy Lee (co-writer Graham Gordy), the patriotic Civil War aficionado Blundell (Roger Scott), Delaney (Michael Gladis), who has the hots for the nervous Dolores Jr. (Michaela Watkins), Blundell’s niece Ellie (Ashley Greene) and soon-to-retire mall manager Dewey Ray (Troy Hogan), who is married to Blundell’s mother and has a desire to travel with her.
It is this predicament that has led Dewey Ray to invite applicants to take over from him so he can take his Winnebago on the bucket list trip. Blundell has his sights on the role, but lacks a certain level of consideration when it comes to customer service. Walt, however, is in the sights of Dewey Ray, but personal conflicts over learning more about his father, as well as a growing attachment to Ellie, is yielding some enlightenment, which is about to be heightened by a dark discovery from his father’s past….
Whilst ANTIQUITIES is an admirable example of small-town dysfunction which has a lot of appeal to indie audiences and those who like a bit of therapy in their cinema and home entertainment, it does have the foundation and potential to also make a pretty good TV spin-off in the style of NORTHERN EXPOSURE and thirtysomething. The characters are suitably eccentric and could be interchangeable over a season or two of half-hour comedy drama, with all of them having solid character arcs and oddities that lend a suitably enchanting attraction.
It will certainly have the right credentials if it is given a fair shot in the market and simply needs the right promotional push to get it out there. Additional appeal comes from Mary Steenburgen as Dr. Margot, a small-town therapist who also possesses a very vocal parrot to help her patients overcome their neuroses.
