Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, “Jack Goes Boating,” the directorial debut by Philip Seymour Hoffman co-starring the always excellent Amy Ryan, got some decent buzz coming out of Park City. The Hollywood Reporter said the film is a “small, slender yet fond slice of life”, while the picture recalled “the warm ‘little people’ dramas of ’50s” according to Variety and the trailer certainly bears that out.
“Jack Goes Boating” is a relationship dramedy about two people who find each other in New York City while the couple that set them up are facing problems in their marriage. While it’s needless to say that Hoffman and Ryan look great in their roles, the true surprise for us in the trailer are the relatively unknown John Ortiz and Daphne Rubin-Vega who look they they are matching their co-stars every step of the way. And frankly, we’ll be damned if our cold little hearts didn’t warm when Fleet Foxes’ “White Winter Hymnal” emerged in the final third of the trailer. And music fans take note, five or six Grizzly Bear songs will appear in the film as well.
Despite management woes, the film is set for a September 17th release via Overture and we hope it stays that way. Full synopsis and trailer after the jump:
Jack Goes Boating is a tale of love, betrayal, friendship and grace centered around two working-class New York City couples, which Variety describes as The film stars John Ortiz (American Gangster), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Broadway’s “Rent”), Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote), with Hoffman making his feature directorial debut. Bob Glaudini (“A View From 151st Street”) adapted his acclaimed Off Broadway play for the screen. Essentially, Jack (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Connie (Amy Ryan) are two single people who on their own might continue to recede into the anonymous background of the city, but in each other begin to find the courage and desire to pursue their budding relationship. In contrast, the couple that introduced them, Clyde (John Ortiz) and Lucy (Daphne Rubin-Vega), are confronting unresolved issues in their marriage. Jack is a limo driver with vague dreams of landing a job with the MTA and an obsession with reggae that has prompted him to begin a half-hearted attempt at growing dreadlocks. He spends most of his time hanging out with his best friend and fellow driver Clyde and Clyde’s wife Lucy. The couple set Jack up with Connie, Lucy’s co-worker at a Brooklyn funeral home. Being with Connie inspires Jack to learn to cook, pursue a new career and take swimming lessons from Clyde so he can give Connie the romantic boat ride she dreams of. But as Jack and Connie cautiously circle commitment, Clyde and Lucy’s marriage begins to disintegrate. From there, we watch as each couple comes face to face with the inevitable path of their relationship.
