Review: “…AROUND” / David Spaltro (2008)
January 9th, 2010 by Scott Marks
![David Spaltro\'s \"...Around\"](http://emulsioncompulsion.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/around-2-420x272.jpg "David Spaltro\'s \\"...Around\\"")
…Around (2008)
Written and Director by: David Spaltro
Cast: Rob Evans, Molly Ryman, Marcel Torres, Berenice Mosca, Ron Brice, Veronica Heffron, David Joseph Boyd, Erin Sullivan, Ali Tobia, Amy Hoerler, Julie Tran
Photographed by David A. Barkan
Running Time: 104 min.
Rating: 
When asked where he lives, Doyle Simms (Rob Evans) provides a one word answer: “Around.”
Doyle is a rarity in Manhattan. In addition to being a film student trying to make his way through New York’s School of Visual Arts, Doyle lives his life on the streets as a covert homeless dude. Even more difficult than keeping his grades up is Doyle’s struggle to mask his secret from friends and family.
Make no mistake, “…Around” has all of the trappings (and some of the pitfalls) of a low budget, independent, first time feature. It’s yet another romantic comedy shot on the fly in the streets of New York that houses about five coincidences too many and could have used an editor to trim some of the extraneous semi-autobiographical material.
It also allows us the chance to eavesdrop on a handful of convincing, thoroughly believable characters while never once getting cloying or sentimental. This is quite an achievement, particularly when given the picture’s homeless angle. But “…Around” is not content to be just another cynical romantic comedy. The film also tackles broader subjects like self worth, human dignity and the concept of home.
The New Jersey teenager comes from a broken home. Doyle’s parents divorced when he was nine and after living eighteen years with his bitter, man-eating mother (Theresa Simms), a life on the streets probably doesn’t seem so bad. He can’t wait to pull a George Baily and kick the crummy dust of this town off his shoes.
![David Spaltro\'s \](http://emulsioncompulsion.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/around.jpg "David Spaltro\'s \")
The closest he gets to a Clarence is Mona (Veronica Heffron). On his last night on the job, Doyle takes twenty from the convenience store cash register and gives it to Mona, a hot, aggressive chick currently living in her Toyota where Doyle is fortunate enough to later spend some quality time.
His last night at home isn’t quite as blissful. Even though her kid wants to go to school in order to better himself, mom can’t let go without a struggle. Her idea of a daily affirmation is “You came into this world sliming out of my vagina.” As Doyle heads out the door, his mother, enraged that a man of hers is once again taking it on the arches, sentences her son to a life of failure.
As a team player Doyle is not without a self-destructive streak. When asked to critique a fellow student’s idea for a short film, he aims for the jugular. Assuming that he can skate by on his charm, Doyle files too late for financial aid and gets kicked out of student housing. (Credit cards cover his tuition.)
There’s a dame in the picture. (There’s always a dame in the picture.) Their meet-cute actually is. After a brief elevator encounter with Allyson (Molly Riman), Doyle pretends to audit a class on anatomy drawing where it turns out she’s the model. I’ll allow every film at least one coincidence. Running into Mona at a party four reels later is one thing. We’ve had time to forget her. Writer/director David Spaltro should have put more thought into figuring out ways to bring the couple together. Instead, Doyle just happens to apply for a busboy job at the same restaurant Molly works and happenstance later reunites them at a bar.
![David Spaltro\'s \"...Around\"](http://emulsioncompulsion.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/around-1-420x272.jpg "David Spaltro\'s \\"...Around\\"")
Evans and Ryman have chemistry to spare and I look forward to hearing more from these two in the future. Spaltro’s greatest strength is his ability to draw solid, finely tuned performances out of even the secondary characters. There are a couple of great kid performances by Steven Grgas as young Doyle and his schoolmate Lorenzo Lazaro “Logic” Lopez (Kristopher Torres). Grgas has a wonderful moment when a deejay asks if he’s ever been with a lady. Flushed with both embarrassment and anticipation Grgas smiles and says, “I’m nine!” And even though Torres sounds like Pootie Tang, the kid is so sure of himself that he offers Doyle paper and a pencil to take notes.
Doyle’s mother is not his only living relative. He has a sister who appears in a few minor scenes and his father bookends the film. It actually comes as a shock when dad reappears in the last reel. We probably could have learned a lot about Doyle watching him interact with these characters and it would have been nice to have heard more from them.
At a cost of $200,000, “…Around” looks fifty times its budget. We should all make a film this good for that kind of money. Here’s hoping that this labor of love will turn David Spaltro’s career around!
“…Around” has been specially selected in competition at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema. The film runs Tuesday Janury 12th at 9pm and Wednesday January 13th at 11am at the Rustic Theatre in Idyllwild, CA. If you’re not in that neck of the woods, there is always Video On Demand.
Tags: ...alone, alone movie, alone movie review, david spaltro, Film Review, Molly Ryman, Movie Review, Rob Evans, robert evans actorShare: 
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