Peter Steele is left spinning by the death of his father. He isn't sure which way is up. Among the things his father left behind was the need for him to become to become the caretaker for his Uncle Frank. Along the way and with the help of Melanie, a single mom and her daughter he begins to find away back to normalcy.
Kenneth R Frank's FAMILY OBLIGATIONS is a nice little surprise. It is a sweet little drama about life and death and some stuff in between. I say that it is a surprise because it is a film I wasn't planning on reviewing but the chance to see it fell in my lap so, needing a break from a mountain of festival films I gave it a shot.
While the film is most decidedly low budget, a scene in a restaurant looks more like it was filmed in the corner of someone's house, the film makes you forget that because we are among some really great people. We aren't watching characters, rather we are watching real people going through their paces. More than once I groaned an "oh god" because I knew someone exactly like that.
While I cold quibble about a couple of things like the funeral director being a bit to schticky as he leans in to make a point. Or not being certain if Chris Mollica's Peter Steele is a bit too stiff because of the performance or being written as too straight a straight man, none of it matters. Once the film is up and running and we are in the thick of it we really don't care, we just want to see how it all comes out.
While the film isn't going to rattle the pillars of heaven, it is going to give you a really good evening's entertainment with time with some people you will like. And best of all it doesn't feel like a big Hollywood production.
Recommended
FAMILY OBLIGATIONS is currently available from MBUR Films on Amazon and AltaVOD with HooplaDigital and Blu-Ray coming soon
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