Film

Tennessee (2008)

Director: Aaron Woodley

Movie review

From Short Review - NY

** (Two stars)
This road-trip flick chronicles the journey of two brothers, Carter (Adam Rothenberg) and Ellis (Ethan Peck), as they drive from New Mexico to their hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, to find their estranged father. Along the way, they encounter Krystal (Mariah Carey), an aspiring singer-song writer waitressing in a Podunk Texas diner. Unlike in big-screen embarrassments like Glitter and WiseGirls, Carey is surprisingly subdued here. She mostly keeps her celebrity complex at bay, allowing her to effectively embody her levelheaded Southern-gal character.

While falling back on clichéd notions of the American road movie, cinematographer David Greene does right by the genre in some sense, with stunning shots of the Midwest. The story drags along too slowly, however, and is shaken up only by scenes of Krystal’s abusive husband, and brief flashbacks to the brothers' familial abuse and Carter’s high-school sweetheart. It is fairly heavy, though not particularly affecting; only a few lighthearted moments rescue it from becoming a complete Hallmark, Lifetime–style tragedy.—Quinn Marquardt, editorial intern

[This is a TONY staff review, written for the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. It is not considered an official review and should not be read as such. Please think of it as a casual impression from a movie-loving friend.]