Plot Summary
When Rachel and her dementia-afflicted grandfather decide to go for a walk to the store, they suddenly become lost in their small town find themselves wandering aimlessly along country roads. As Rachel’s mother prays and tries to organize a search party for them, she can only think of all the horrible things that might happen to her daughter and her father. However, Rachel and her grandfather end up having a fun time wandering around and meeting eccentric people.
Production Quality (.5 point)
The only good aspect of this production is the video quality, unfortunately. Camera work is too shaky and audio quality is unnecessarily echoed. The soundtrack is also silly. Sets, locations, and props are too limited and are obviously amateurish. There is not really any editing to speak of as pretty much all content possible is included. There are also some references to unnecessary off-screen content. Basically, this production unjustified due to its low quality and for reasons we will explore next.
Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)
The plot of Almost Home is so trite and silly that the entire idea is utterly pointless. Filled with silly juvenile conversations, there is literally nothing to this film except for a girl and her grandfather aimlessly wandering around and meeting goofy people while their family worries about them. This is the only conflict presented and a majority of the ‘plot’ is based on coincidences. While there may be a place of this sort of film, its idea needs to be greatly expanded and the comedy of it needs to be further embraced. As it is, this story is so limited that it can only be justified as a short film as it is. There is no way this story is going to interest people.
Acting Quality (0 points)
With such a small cast, all errors stand out obviously. The cast members are overly practiced and stilted in their line delivery. Sometimes the acting is a bit off the wall. Emotions seem very plastic. Overall, this caps off a disappointing film.
Conclusion
Exactly how was this idea pitched? Almost Home is at best a piece of a film or a short film, not a feature-length idea. There is so little potential and content here that it’s actually quite sad. We are unsure as to how films like this are made, even if the creators do mean well. The time and money spent on this film would have been far better used elsewhere. As it is, films like this one will have no impact on the field and will be easily and unfortunately forgotten.
Final Rating: .5 out of 10 points
Box Office Revolution 