October 27, 2005 -- The other night I went to see “Me and You and Everyone We Know.” I wasn't in the mood to see it. It had been a long week. I had seen a lot of movies and had done a lot of reviews. This little low-budget film turned out to be a real unexpected pleasure. What it lacks in budget and star power it more than makes up for with bountiful imagination. Just when you think movies have nothing new left to say, a movie like this comes along and shows you what is possible.

This film is the creation of performance artist Miranda July who writes, directs and stars in the film. Naturally, the film is about a performance artist, Christine Jesperson (played by Miranda July) who is trying to get her work accepted at a local art museum, but she must first get the museum director, Nancy (Tracy Wright) to look at her demo video. Nancy won't even accept the tape when it is handed to her. Christine falls for a department store shoe salesman, Richard Swersey (John Hawkes) who is in no mood to start a romance. Richard is going through a painful separation and is having trouble taking care of his two kids, Peter (Miles Thompson) and his younger brother Robby (Brandon Ratcliff). Peter has caught the attention of two teenage girls who enlist his help in a strange sex experiment. Robby patrols Internet chat rooms, engaging in strange sex talk with adults. Richard's co-worker writes suggestive notes on his window concerning the two teenage girls.

One of Robby's sex ideas that is sent onto the Internet has to do with two people exchanging poop back and forth forever. It is about as good a metaphor for the endless cycle of Hollywood remakes, sequels and old television show adaptations as I have ever heard. This charming, funny and decidedly perverted movie features a good deal of material that comes close to being child pornography. It is so close to being fantasy, however, it never quite crosses that line. When the child Robby goes to the park alone to meet his adult online sex chat partner, it is an incredibly dangerous thing to do. The fact that the encounter turns out O.K. doesn't mitigate the fact that this whole course of action is a very bad idea. This is definitely not a movie that kids should see.

The story reverses the role of children and adults. The adults act like children and the children act like adults. The adults are filled with imagination and a sense of wonder about the possibilities of life. The children seem jaded, by comparison, idly looking for thrills because they are bored by everything. One young girl is busy building up her hope chest and planning her future house and husband. Peter prints out symbols on a piece of paper which represent everyone he and his brother knows. The whole world summed up in black and white dots. What mysteries are left for these children? Christine and Richard, on the other hand, believe in love and they hope to find it in each other. The film takes everyday people and events and makes them magical. This film rates an A.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2005 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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