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Bigger Than the Sky (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:16
Fresh:2
Rotten:14
Average Rating:3.6/10
Synopsis: After being dumped by his girlfriend, Peter Rooker (Marcus Thomas) finds himself in a rut. Bored with his job and lacking any close friends, Peter spends his free time sitting on a couch parked in... After being dumped by his girlfriend, Peter Rooker (Marcus Thomas) finds himself in a rut. Bored with his job and lacking any close friends, Peter spends his free time sitting on a couch parked in his front lawn in the company of several neighborhood cats. It is this sense of purposelessness that attracts Peter to the poster he passes every morning announcing auditions for the upcoming Portland community theater production of CYRANO DE BERGERAC. Wondering whether this might be the breath of fresh air he's been looking for, Peter hesitantly buys the play and starts reading it over. After days of deliberating, he finally forces himself into the audition room, where, despite his undeniably terrible reading, he is given the play's starring role by a director (Claire Higgins) who senses a fire and passion beneath Peter's dull exterior. In order to pull off Cyrano and stand up to the flamboyant, overwhelming personalities of the theater, Peter must become less of a pushover. Through rehearsals, and middle-of-the-night visits from eccentric cast members like over-the-top Michael Degan (SEX AND THE CITY's John Corbett), Peter is forced to come out of his shell and take on a more active role on the stage, and off. Aside from growing as an actor, the theater community encourages Peter to take a chance on people, forging relationships with the likes of Grace (Amy Smart), the play's leading lady, and shared love interest of Peter and Michael. This small film touches on the sense of community that small productions foster, and captures the strong personalities so often found in the theatre. A true theater lover's film, BIGGER THAN THE SKY is an uplifting story about finding one's own voice and believing in one's own potential. [More]
Starring: Marcus Thomas, John Corbett, Amy Smart, Sean Astin
Starring: Marcus Thomas, John Corbett, Amy Smart, Sean Astin, Claire Higgins, Patty Duke, Allan Corduner
Director: Al Corley
Director: Al Corley
Screenwriter: Rodney Patrick Vaccaro
Studio: MGM/UA
Reviews for Bigger Than the Sky
An off-putting combination of earnestness and apparent disregard for audience involvement.
Are the filmmakers making meta use of a bland, uncharismatic actor to play a bland, uncharismatic actor who plays one of the theater's most memorable men? Nah, thinking like that requires panache.
Bigger Than the Sky is, like its lead character, equal parts endearing and exasperating.
Bigger lopes along endlessly, a no-surprises foray into backstage high jinks and the notion of life as the best acting coach there is.
Feels constrained by its unshakable predisposition toward actorly fawning.
The story is as predictable as it is saccharine. Apart from the presence of local landmarks, there's no reason the Rose City should be proud of this effort.
Nearly two hours of an earnest, predictable comedy about a pathetic schlemiel who hopes to redeem himself by acting in the community theater.
As the main character learns his life lesson from those kooky thespians, the rest of us are just reminded why we avoided drama club in the first place.
Painfully well-intentioned, the film is undone by a lead character who undermines any goodwill earned by the performances of John Corbett, Amy Smart, Clare Higgins, Allan Corduner, Patty Duke and Sean Astin.
This low-key comedy has some charming elements but struggles to weave them into anything significant.
The movie is a too-familiar tale of the drama and intrigues, the laughter and tears, the blah-blah and the whatever, that go on backstage in a community theater company.
Yup, this is another one of those flicks about how wacky life in the theater is, and how wacky theater people are, but it’s a thoroughly charming example of the breed.
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