Open House

Description

Product Description Dan Mirvish's "fatabulous" musical comedy Open House, is a tangled tale of intrigue, romance, lost love and the one thing everyone has in common: the American dream of finding a home. We meet Barry (Anthony Rapp, Rent) - the eager-to-please real estate agent desperate to sell a house. There's Debbie and Joel (Kellie Martin, ER and James Duval, Donnie Darko) - two "Sexy Swipers" who spend their Sundays making quick love in open houses and then stealing trinkets to put in the next house. Down-on-his-luck jewel thief Dave (Jerry Doyle, Babylon 5) has a broken-down getaway car, so he pretends to be an endocrinologist interested in buying a house. There's Ron and Gloria - a couple of adulterous cops trying to break a big case. And finally we meet Marjorie (Sally Kellerman, M*A*S*H), a dispirited realtor with a penchant for younger men and tequila. This disparate group of strangers comes together in the search for true love, a bag of jewels and the perfect two-story colonial Review "A crowd favorite." -- S. Mark Rhodes, Films in Review"A funny, fast-paced and above all very unique film. A film filled with interesting and hilarious songs about real estate that you won't be able to get out of your head! It works beautifully. Every musical number resulted in an eruption of applause from the audience. Kellerman is simply on fire!" -- FilmThreat"A must-see favorite! Super cast! Kellie Martin scores as a yuppie fond of quickie sex in strange houses; Sally Kellerman, as a boozy, unsuccessful agent, delivers a torchy realtor's lament; and Ann Magnuson shows up very late and nearly walks off with the whole movie." -- Baltimore CityPaper"A triumph...unique and flavorful! The show is clearly stolen by Kellerman whose "Sellin' A Dream" song is the most completely marketable and pleasing thing in the movie. Hopefully, the Academy will remember it come nomination time because a proliferation of films like 'Open House' could usher in a new era in the musical genre." -- Jonathan Hickman, Einsiders.com"Among its many send-ups are a showstopping duet, 'Sellin' a Dream,' performed by Sally Kellerman and Jerry Doyle." -- Regina Weinreich, The East Hampton Star"Awesome! This is a hilarious, crazy movie! Thumbs up to director, Dan Mirvish; Sally Kellerman is excellent!" -- Jim Muscarella, The Improper"In a rare and demanding move, all singing was performed and recorded live on set. Lovely!" -- Variety"It's Fantabulous! With OPEN HOUSE, Dan Mirvish has crafted the first great musical of independent film. Amongst a great cast, Sally Kellerman, Ann Magnuson, and Kellie Martin shine as they deliver Mirvish's toe-tapping tunes which you won't be able to get out of your head. Stylistically, it's a ingenious blend of Rodgers & Hammerstein, Preston Sturges, and Robert Altman. One of the songs is entitled 'Do You Love this House?' And the answer is a definite yes!" -- Terry Keefe, Venice Magazine"Mirvish, who is perhaps best known for co-founding the Slamdance Film Festival, creates a very funny and sardonic atmosphere that will have you laughing throughout....A genuine delight! The musical numbers are nothing short of hilarious." -- Larry Katz, WTTR Radio"People loved it. It was funny. And it's about time somebody made a Real Estate Musical!" -- Carloss James Chamberlin, Senses of Cinema P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); From the Contributor Anthony Rapp - (Barry) "We're paving new ground with this real-estate musical! Dan, the mad genius he is, emailed and asked me electronically if I wanted to consider the film. He'd seen me in MAN OF THE CENTURY when it was at Slamdance a few years back, and producer/star Gibson Fraizer recommended me to him. The script was goofy, smart, subversive. I've always had a taste for goofball, dark comedy. The voice, the energy was so textured - it had a real heart among the screwball. Besides, all my Indie experiences have been great, they're a labor of love and I like to honor that. "Barry is a singing realtor. He's got gusto. He's got passion. Barry loves this house, and loves the notion of getting it into some good hands. Working with Dan is like jumping off the cliff every day, but he does give you this freedom, this trust that allows us to keep it fresh. An Indie musical has its own charm by the very seat-of-our-pants nature (especially since Dan gave us no rehearsal time, and has no idea of notes or rhythm!). It's what gave me the opportunity to really have some fun improvising Barry." Sally Kellerman - (Marjorie Milford) "This is such a delightful script. I've done Indies of course, but never a guerilla-Indie like this one. But I adore my character, while still being challenged by her. How surprising to have this character be a realtor who enjoys her drinking, and likes to show her clients a good time. And at the end of the day, I get to fall in love. "I've been in two flops in my life, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANYS on stage, and the musical LOST HORIZON. I think maybe this charmingly original musical can be a comeback for a fun genre." James Duval - (Joel Rodman) "My character, Joel, is a bit more traditional than his girlfriend, Debbie. He's looking to commit, as long as it's with Debbie, and he'll do anything for her. She's definitely the owner of the pants in this relationship! "I said yes to Dan because of the level of talent he was assembling, and the script was great. Plus, it meant Dan and I were finally working together. We'd tried to do a film a few years ago called STAMP AND DELIVER, but we had to shut down due to shady money people before we could get the first shot off. "Working with him now is more of everything I thought it would be - easy going, liberal, very loose, very open to letting us try what we want to try. It's the antithesis to Gregg Araki's style. Every day was unique and had such great moments in it that I'll never forget, but one of my favorites has to be the finale, the big dance sequence is definitely the cherry on top of the cinematic sundae we have here." Kellie Martin - (Debbie Delaney) "Jimmy and I are such a dynamic duo as Debbie and Joel. And the musical challenge was so intriguing to me, it gave me something I'd have to work hard at and that scared and excited me. I had to say yes." "The open house is where all these different lives converge; I like why Jimmy and I are there - we get to be the Œsexy swipers,' which means we get to have sex and steal! Jimmy's great to work with, he's fearless and since I hold back a bit it was a good combination." Jerry Doyle - (Dave Torkenson) "My character, Dave, is a frustrated guy, a jewelry store owner who is down on life and decides to plan a heist. I love the fact that Dave runs into ALL the characters, and in the end that's how he finds his redemption. He doesn't see it coming, but it's great. "When I first started on this movie, I kept thinking it was NOISES OFF meets COP ROCK. The scariest part for me was that I had to sing. I told Dan in the audition, I don't sing. He made me sing ŒHappy Birthday' for my audition and I was sure he'd see what I meant by ŒI don't sing.' But he hired me anyway and said I had to. I panicked. I'd play the CD over and over again in my car, desperately trying to get it right. But when you have Anthony Rapp and Ann Magnuson - these great singers you'd pay $80 to see on Broadway - on set with you, you've just got to be elated! All of them, Anthony, Ann, Sally, they just made it effortless." Ann Magnuson - (Sarah Jane Tibbett) "It's a bucolic, hellish life Sarah Jane is living, being this normal It's killing her. When these Altman-esque eccentrics converge on her house, it's enough to send her over the edge. It was intriguing to me that Sarah Jane was based on Sarah Jane Olson, who as fate would have it, was sentenced on our first day of shooting." "In musicals you don't really need motivation to break into song, they projectile vomit right out of you! Some fans may be surprised when they see me in OPEN HOUSE, but Sarah Jane and I both are many-sided, refracting from all bizarre angles. This film may make me start breaking into song daily now." Hedy Burress - (Gloria Hobbs) "Gloria is a cop first. She's a bit uptight, a bit inept. In fact, she's a mess. Think Jamie Lee Curtis in BLUE STEEL crossed with Holly Hunter in RAISING ARIZONA, it's a toss up. But I loved how weird the script was, and how weird Gloria is. And you just can't say no to Dan Mirvish." Robert Peters - (Ron Tucker) "Dan and I knew each other from a film I directed that screened (and won) at Slamdance, MUTUAL LOVE LIFE. What I found out about Dan working with him on set every day is that no matter what obstacles, the train keeps going. And he puts together a great cast who thrives on that. Hedy and I both play inept cops who are hot for each other. It couldn't be more fun. We alternate between goofy and incompetent. I put on 40 pounds for this role - you should see me now." See more