Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Robert J. Maxwell Two escaped convicts step out of the woods and shoot two campers in the head. That's the first scene, and it made me wince, fearing what was in store. But by the end of the first half hour I was all swept up in the flood of images. Not because I cared in the least about any of the characters but because I was aghast at how execrable the film was and was curious to see how truly low it could sink.Frank (Remar) and Red (Woolvett) are the ex-inmates. After murdering the two innocent campers they plow through the woods and wangle their way into the isolated cabin of Dean Stockwell and his two sons, the attorney Keith and the estranged homosexual Behr. The escapees at first pretend their car has broken down and they need to use the phone, but they gradually reveal their identities.Well, it looks like familiar territory so far. "Desperate Hours," or "Funny Games" maybe. But -- hang on -- the gay son is in cahoots with the two. It seems that Stockwell, upon discovering his son in flagrante delicto with another man named Billy, kicked Billy around and threw him out. Billy went on to die and Behr now blames his Dad for the death. And, indeed, Dad is something of a Neanderthal when it comes to paraphilias, the fact that he was just found cohabiting with a secretary notwithstanding.The grief-stricken Behr just searched and searched, looking for someone else who had known Billy, someone with whom he could share his despair. It turned out to be one of the escapees, and now Behr is determined to see them to their freedom.It gets all twisted after that. People talk. They talk and talk. They talk continually. And NOT about the two mad killers who just can't wait to put one between their eyes. No -- the dialog goes something like, "You were just so scared of something inside yourself that you even drove away your own SON." That's Behr, the young gay guy, talking to Stockwell. It's as if an afternoon domestic drama had had its genes mixed with a killer thriller in some kind of transformational device or cocktail shaker.The only real performance is given by James Remar as the more talkative and ominous of the two escapees. And that's mainly because of his gruff but fluid baritone, which sounds like Lance Henrickson's, and his wide guppy-like lips. He's easy on the eyes and ears.Dean Stockwell has given decent performances, including his inestimable bizarro turn in "Blue Velvet," in which he was my supporting player, but here laziness, advancing years, or slack direction has shaped his every move and every utterance into a stereotype. It's as if he were reading stage directions -- "Look surprised" and "shout angrily" -- and following them literally. There's not a surprise in a cartload.If the gay son, Jason Behr, ever blinked, it must have been while I was blinking at the same time because I missed it. He has a long neck and just one expression in his instrument. Woolvett as the secondary villain fades into the pine-knot paneled woodwork. The attorney son is Robert Glen Keith. I hope he didn't quit his day job.The direction is pedestrian, the staging functional without being in the least innovative. Sometimes it's confusing. I lost track of where everyone was supposed to be as the killers are circling around on the cabin's porch and the family has locked itself inside with a shotgun. I also couldn't understand how Stockwell could put a blast through the cabin's door, hit Remar, and knock him in a back flip off the porch, and then Remar could simply stand up, dust himself off, and come up with a cranky riposte like, "Okay. Two can play that game." But why go on? See it if you must.

hibbertlange@aol.com This movie is unusual in the way that it has an all-male cast.That aspect of the movie drives the mood and intensity from beginning to end.I thought the father's (Dean Stockwell) turn-around in feelings to be genuinely believable as the film's events cause him to re-evaluate what and who are most important in his life.James Remar delivers a wonderfully increasingly sinister performance in this film. Although we've seen him in so many roles. He normally doesn't have a character as expanded as this and you get to see what he's really capable of.And lastly, but not leastly, Jason Behr shines as poor confused and bereft Campbell. He's made so many poor decisions, and yet you just want to put your arms around him and say that everything will be all right.If you thought Max Evans (Roswell) would always be your favorite character for Jason Behr, Campbell will make you think twice.This movie is definately a drama. If you are looking for something light and funny, save this movie for another night. If the big box office movies have been leaving you flat lately, this independent movie is a good one to restore your faith that great acting-not a big budget-is what makes a movie really good.

Don P Mitchell I liked Victor Salva's film -Powder- a few years ago, and was pleasantly surprised when I watched -Rites of Passage-. It's a competently made thriller, but the real intent of the film, as writer-direction Salva says in the commentary, was to work out his own difficult issues with his step father. This is accomplished with Dean Stockwell as a hard macho father, and Jason Behr as his estranged gay son.Jason Behr's performance is remarkable for such a young actor. I hope this young man moves beyond the TV series and does more serious film acting. Behr and Salva do the DVD commentary which adds to my impression of Behr as an exceptionally intelligent person, often humbled by Salva's praise in the course of the story. Stockwell's performance is also excellent, as we would expect.

Matt73 This movie is not bad at all, not very good either though. At least you can learn about the bond between a father and his son who's been keeping a very dark secret. About how they finally accept each other for who they really are. Jason Behr from TV Series "Roswell" did a very good job in portraying one of the sons, with his very convincing acting. The director did a good job in presenting this one-night event movie without making it boring.