Honeyglue
| Honeyglue | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | James Bird |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | James Bird |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Anya Remizova |
| Cinematography | Stefan Colson |
| Edited by | Stefan Colson |
Production company |
Zombot Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Honeyglue is an American romantic drama film written and directed by James Bird, produced by Zombot Pictures. The film stars Adriana Mather, Zach Villa, Christopher Heyerdahl, Jessica Tuck, Booboo Stewart, and Amanda Plummer. The film premiered at Newport Beach Film Festival and was released theatrically in the Unites States on June 3, 2016.
Plot
Honeyglue follows the story of Morgan, who flips her protected middle-class life upside down after learning she has three months left to live. During one of her bucket list outings at a gothic nightclub she meets Jordan, a rebellious gender-defying artist, with whom she falls in love and embarks on a series of adventures that she documents with a hand-held camera.
Cast
- Adriana Mather as Morgan
- Zach Villa as Jordan
- Christopher Heyerdahl as Dennis
- Jessica Tuck as Janet
- Booboo Stewart as Bailey
- Amanda Plummer as Alice
- Fernanda Romero as Misty
- Kristin Minter as Aunt Lisa
- Clayton Rohner as Dr Colson
- Faran Tahir as Dr Konig
Production
The events of Honeyglue are inspired by one of the producers (Anya Remizova) losing her father to cancer while filming Zombot Pictures's first film Eat Spirit Eat. James Bird began doing research and writing the script for Honeyglue shortly after as a way of dealing with the loss.[1] One of the major themes in the film is gender identity and sexuality, with the character of Jordan being gender-fluid. Early in production a choice was made to not discuss gender in the film and not dwell on the issue. In an interview with DailyCal Adriana Mather, who also produced the film explained, “We do that on purpose because these are just people, and gender is on a spectrum.”[2]
The filming commenced on February 2, 2014. Honeyglue was filmed in 20 days in various locations around Los Angeles, CA, including El Matador State Beach, Downtown Los Angeles Arts District, Glendale and others. The gothic club in the scene where Morgan and Jordan first meet is not a real venue and was built specifically for the production of Honeyglue inside one of the industrial warehouses in DTLA.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack includes the original score by Anya Remizova and additional songs performed by The Grass Roots, Josh Ritter, IAMX, Las Cafeterias, Portugal. The Man, Watson Twins, and 'Mericans . A Cloud Cult song "You're The Only Thing In Your Way" is featured both in the film and on Honeyglue official trailer.
Remizova's score features extensive use of vintage analog synthesizers and a live piano.
Release
The film was released theatrically in a limited run on June 3, 2016 and Digitally on June 14, 2016 by Zombot Pictures.
Reception
Honeyglue was well received an won awards during the film's festival run, including accolades from Napa Valley Film Festival, Big Island Film Festival, San Luis Obispo Film Festival, and Orlando Film Fest.[3]
Both leading actors received praise from critics for their acting performances. Katie Walsh from LA Times notes that "Adriana Mather gives an embodied performance as the dying young woman" and Zach Villa "brings soulful intelligence to the role of Jordan." [4] Sherilyn Connely from SFWeekly says, "Jordan and Morgan emerge as fully formed characters who could have just been symbols."[5] Some film critics criticized Honeyglue for being overly sentimental.[6]
The film currently has audience score of 58% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 3.7/5.[7] On IMDB Honeyglue is rated 7.3/10 based on 540 reviews.[8]
References
- ↑ "'Honeyglue' Filmmakers Talk the Gender-Defying Love Story That Will Have You Bawling in the Theater". www.pride.com. 2016-06-06. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
- ↑ Staff, Sarah Coduto | (2016-06-09). "'Honeyglue' defies labels in pursuit of young love". The Daily Californian. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
- ↑ "Home - HoneyGlue Film". HoneyGlue Film. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
- ↑ Walsh, Katie (2016-06-22). "Los Angeles Times Honeyglue Film Review". www.latimes.com.
- ↑ Connelly, Sherilyn. "Honeyglue". SF Weekly. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
- ↑ "'Honeyglue': Tale of love, cancer pours on sticky sentimentality". The Seattle Times. 2016-06-16. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
- ↑ "Honeyglue". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
- ↑ Bird, James (2015-04-26), Honeyglue, retrieved 2016-06-22