Me & You, Us, Forever

Me & You, Us, Forever
Directed by Dave Christiano
Produced by Dave Christiano
Written by Dave Christiano
Music by Jasper Randall Titman
Cinematography Philip Hurn
Edited by Shane McMullin
Production
company
Dave Christiano Films
Distributed by Five & Two Pictures
Release dates
 February 15, 2008 (2008-02-15)
Running time
 104 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $84,093

Me & You, Us, Forever is a 2008 Christian film written, directed and produced by Dave Christiano, and upon whose personal experience of divorce it is based.[1] The film was distributed by Five & Two Pictures, and starred Michael Blain-Rozgay, Stacey J. Aswad, Hugh McLean, Jenna Bailey, Sandi Fix,[2] Kathryn Worsham[3] and character actor Terry Loughlin.[4]

Plot

A 47-year-old Christian man (Michael Blain-Rozgay) is on the other side of an unwanted divorce. Searching for answers to ease the pain and make sense of his life, he meets a woman (Stacey J. Aswad) at a divorce recovery group. The two forge a friendship and find they have a common bond: both have been thinking about their lost first loves. As he reminisces about his old high school girlfriend (Kathryn Worsham), he regrets he ever broke up with her. Now, 30 years later, he wants to see her again.

Cast

  • Michael Blain-Rozgay as Dave
  • Stacey J. Aswad as Carla
  • Hugh McLean as Paul
  • Jenna Bailey as Sue
  • Sandi Fix as Mary
  • Kathryn Worsham as a young Mary
  • Terry Loughlin as support group leader

Production

According to Christiano, the idea for the film occurred years before his marriage, and he began writing it in about 2002, basing it on his own "first love" teen romance in New York.[5] He stated that he wrote it with the intention of helping Christians through difficult times, and getting past anger and bitterness.[6] He said that church leaders should reach out to members in crisis.[6] Jasper Randall composed the music for the film.[7]

Release

Me & You, Us, Forever's initial theatrical release was set for 83 cities in 34 states[5][8] on February 15, 2008, following Valentine's Day. A second release to additional cities was planned for May 9, 2008.[1] The film was released to digital-projection cinemas,[5] and was marketed "direct-to-churches", which one reverend remarked upon as "relatively new."[5] The film made $58,662 on its opening weekend, and $84,093 total.[9]

Reception

Ken Hanke of the Mountain Xpress described the technical aspects of the film as "competent", but action locations as "blandest, least interesting settings imaginable". [10] He continued, "I don’t know when I’ve ever seen a less interesting or more dramatically neutered movie," commenting specifically on many overlong simple action sequences which could have been easily trimmed.[10] In a roundup of the best and worst films of 2008, Andrew Jefchak of the Grand Rapids Press labeled the film the "Worst inspirational feature ... which takes an important message about life and turns it into boring drivel through simplistic dialogue, terrible acting and unimaginative direction."[11]

References

  1. 1 2 Phan, Katherine T. (January 15, 2008). "Christian Film Offers Healing to Victims of Divorce". The Christian Post. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  2. ↑ Lochridge, Eric (February 15, 2008). "Former Miss South Dakota USA featured in film". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  3. ↑ Barnes, Michael (February 15, 2008). "UT actress hits big screen in story of first love". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  4. ↑ Rettew, Bill (January 24, 2008). "Hollywood Actor Calls Sebring Home". Highlands Today (Tampa Bay Online).
  5. 1 2 3 4 Gurbal, Ashley (February 12, 2008). "First love and faith - Independent film looks at aftermath of divorce". Altoona Mirror, PA.
  6. 1 2 "Film argues for gentler church approach to divorce". March 7, 2008. (Religion News Service) National Catholic Reporter Section:G. News & Features.
  7. ↑ Odegard, Kyle (February 15, 2008). "From Alsea to Hollywood". Gazette-Times Lee Enterprises.
  8. ↑ "Divorce, Christian Style". FilmStew. January 15, 2008. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  9. ↑ "Me & You, Us, Forever". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  10. 1 2 Hanke, Ken (February 20, 2008). "Me & You, Us, Forever (PG)". Mountain Xpress. Asheville, NC. Archived from the original on 2008-05-29.
  11. ↑ Jefchak, Andrew (December 26, 2008). "On Film: Plenty of gems amid cinema rock heap of 2008". The Grand Rapids Press.
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