A sweet, touching, charming movie Big Eden was released in 2000 becoming a crowd and festival favorite.
A romantic drama, it is the story Henry, a successful but lonely New York artist, returns to Big Eden, the town of his childhood, to care for his grandfather. Henry finds he must come to terms with his relationship to Dean Stewart, his best friend from high school, and the object of his unrequited love. His feelings for Dean, which caused him to flee Big Eden almost twenty years ago, seem to have grown stronger over the years.
Henry's reappearance sparks a transformation in Pike, the shy Native American owner of the town's general store. Pike is as surprised as anyone when he finds himself falling in love with Henry. As this unspoken triangle unfolds under the scrutiny of Big Eden's community, nearly everyone in town develops a stake in its outcome. Big Eden is a uniquely American fable about home and family.
First time Writer/Director,Thomas Bezucha said “I…had these fantasies of moving out West, chucking it all in and going to teach art in some elementary school in Montana. I would express that fantasy and all my friends would freak out and say, ‘Are you crazy? You can't do that, you're gay, do you know what they do to gay people out there?’ I sort of got into this idea of - it was amazing how prejudiced people in an urban setting were about rural people, the preconception about the mindset out there - and I thought, ‘Well, what if that weren't the case?’”
What did you like about the movie? Could you identify with any of the characters? Were there characters who frustrated you? What parts touched you? What made it different from other GLBT movies you've seen?
The film has been criticized for its unrealistically sunny depiction of the way Big Eden embraces its gay citizens, and this is unfair -romantic comedies are supposed to take place in an improved
fantasy world. What do you think? Fair criticism?
Bonus points for those who can say who was the Oscar winner in the movie, and extra bonus points for movie they were in to win it.
For the those in the US - the full movie is available online - one place is Logo online.
Big Eden - Entire Movie
Stubborn has bee working on trying to get Big Eden up for those outside of the US, right now is taking ages to upload the whole movie to Youtube so for now you can get it through Rapid Share.
You will need this to unzip them once you download it.
http://www.freebyte.net/download/hjsplit.zip
If you are having a trouble, leave a message on OMG and Stubborn said she would help you out.
Here are the You Tube links. Thanks Stubborn for all the hard work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfrrIi80W1w (Part 1)
Can't upload - because of a song used in a scene,
There is no dialog just a scene of driving into Big Eden (Part 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVjDF7xeMWs (Part 3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tk41s9oaKU (Part 4)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xczaUVp1f7o (Part 5)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa6LJvoT4ww (Part 6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugnV1T08xAM (Part 7)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51VvwNI_H_g (Part 8)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OmhN9U-g4E (Part 9)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k71CxgaDHs (Part 10)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiSIt79vkxs (Part 11)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdpsyYAOJG0 (Part 12)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbeOH4pGQ3w (Part 13)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fquqcQb3u-Y (Part 14)
The Austin Friday Post will remain open thru Sat. for all other discussion not related to Movie Club.
11 comments:
I enjoyed this movie a lot more than I thought I was going to. There is a theater down in Greenwich Village called the quad, kind of a dumpy place, and they always run the movies like this and I think of them as the "quad gay movies", usually not well-acted, thin plot line, etc. Well, this one transcends the genre.
I can't believe it was made in 2000, it seems very contemporary somehow. At the same time I do think of it as more of a fairy tale because I don't for a minute think things are that easy in any small town. I loved all those old guys in the store, and the widow who was out to match him up with someone, be it a woman or a man.
I liked the movie as well.
I thought it was a nice touch that Henry seemed to have the same kind of shyness around Dean in the beginning that Pike had around Henry.
What hit me in the middle of the movie when the guy in the hat (that always visits Pikes store) tells Henry that Pike doesn't like crowds, was the similarities Pike has with Ennis.
They both seem to be shy around the one person they really like, but have no problem showing who's boss with others.
And they both do nice things for their crush without telling them about it. Pike with the cooking and Ennis with getting Jack soup.
The men at the store were hilarious, I especially loved how they told Dean to go around the back just so they could have a little fun and a little drama.
The end with the widow and the old guy with the pipe dancing was also pretty funny.
One thing that seems a little non-believable is the fact that there are just so many gay people in such a relatively small circle of friends.
You don't just have the 3 main guys (although Dean might be more bi than gay), who also all were in one class, but at the end you also see another gay couple dancing.
I caught Big Eden one weekend on TV, and was taken with the quirky sweet story.
And I have watched it several times just this week too. Thanks to online.
Even though it came out in 2000, before Brokeback, it reminds you of some of the Brokeback fan fiction that fans have written, giving the happy ending so many have written for the heartbreak story of Jack & Ennis.
Stubborn you make a good point about Pike being like Ennis. But the part that really made me think of that was when Pike, was telling the Native American story of the stars. All of his shyness and reserve fell away, and he just opened up and all the words came, much like Ennis up on Brokeback.
The scenes with Jim and Pike in the kitchen, and Jim and the Widow Thayer and the guys that hang at the store all in the kitchen with Pike, letting him know that he is special and they want him to be happy too, was sweet.
One of the most touching moments was Henry and Sampa on the couch, as Sampa was trying get Henry to tell him he was gay. Because Henry's friend Mary Margaret from NY was right - he knew. But when his grandfather asks him if they did something raising him. If they taught him shame. And Sampa telling "can't you see what a good God job did here, can't you see how beautiful he made you." It wasn't heavy handed, but still hit all the emotions.
I pretty much wanted to kick Dean because he wanted the attention of Henry and didn't want anyone else to have Henry, but he couldn't have a romantic relationship with him. I tend to think that Dean was straight, but still enjoyed being the object of desire in Henry's life, it was a boost for his ego.
The one thing that is so different about Big Eden from a lot of LGTB movie, story wasn't about hot young perfect looking guys, in fact everyone is over 30. It wasn't all great tragic drama, no clubs, no drugs, there is no sex, there wasn't really any swearing, there was a happy ending. It's a PG-13 romance that just so happens to be about two guys.
I don't know what to make of the Dean character, but I do think he was probably straight. It made me think of some of the discussions about bisexuality we've had, and my belief that it is just not that common in men, whether it is because men are just hard-wired differently, or because of how they are brought up, or more likely, a combination of the two. If Dean had been a woman and Henry a lesbian, they probably would have at least slept together a few times. I think Dean felt extremely close to Henry and couldn't find a way to express it.
I did think of BBM a little bit, but also Snow White, with all those old geezers the dwarfs trying to help the Pike find his prince. I really liked the actor who played Pike, he reminded me a little bit of Taylor Kitsch.
Anybody figure out who the Oscar winner in Big Eden is?
I've seen the movie on Logo more than once. A little contrived, but heart warming. I know this sounds really shallow, but part of the reason I did not enjoy the film as much as others is that I did not find Henry very attractive. No sexual heat.
I agree about the lack of sexual heat from Henry.
I forgot about that question, it's Louis Fletcher, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
I liked Big Eden even when I saw it the first time a few years ago. It reminded be of a lot of the hetro romantic comedies that I have seen over the years that I liked as well and I thought it was cool that they used two guys. It was so sweet how Pike showed his feelings for Henry though his cooking and how everyone in town picked up on his affection for Henry. Pikes shyness was really touching to me because I think we all have that bit of shyness in us when we like someone and don't know exactly how to show it. The parts with Dean were a little heart wrenching but realistic in a way too because that's how love goes sometimes. You cant choose who you love or why and you don't know whether those feelings are ever going to be returned in the same way. Overall I thought it was a really good movie. No violence, death, or drugs which was a refreshing change from the norm in gay films. I didn't really compare it to BBM only because it wasn't sad or depressing. I thought it was Louise Fletcher that was the Oscar winner but I wasn't sure.
"The men at the store were hilarious, I especially loved how they told Dean to go around the back just so they could have a little fun and a little drama."
Your right Stubborn that was hilarious - almost like a mini soap opera. I wonder if men actually do that.
Clarity,
You can bet some men actually do that! Sometimes men make the best gossips around, just like the two old guys in the muppets shows...
I hate that I've been unable to find Big Eden at the library and being up here in Canada can't access the links you posted special. I'd love to see the entire movie, have only seen snippets on youtube. I'll get to it eventually and I'm sure I'll love it as I'm a sap for that kind of story. Different from BBM in a way that the community at large appears to be in support of true love, which may be a bit of a Pollyanna approach but just as nice to witness in any case.
Too many of us seldom have enough love in our lives, it's nice to see it manifested in ways like this if only for fleeting moments. It does my heart good to see and experience this, even just the discussion of the topic and a review. I really will look forward to enjoying the movie in it's entirety.
Hope you're all having a great weekend, I'm making the best of mine.
Sea.
Sorry you can't see it access it the clips Seaweed. We will see what we can do to help.
"I think we all have that bit of shyness in us when we like someone and don't know exactly how to show it."
Oh, so true Clarity so true.
And yes it is Louise Fletcher(Grace), who won an Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe for her performance as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Gold Stars for Destiny & Clarity.
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