Outing Riley (2004)

[FillionRules]

Outing Riley


Directed by : Pete Jones

Genre: Comedy


Plot Outline:

Bobby, the youngest boy in an Irish Catholic family, is gay and his coming out to his brothers and the family's way of dealing with the news is the basis of this film.



Status: Completed


Note: Since this project is categorized as being in production, the data is subject to change or could be removed completely.




Credited cast:
Steve Dahl .... Mr. Burke, the estate lawyer
Nathan Fillion .... Luke
Jeff Garlin
Dana Lynne Gilhooley .... Carly
Pete Jones .... Bobby Riley
Dev Kennedy .... Jack
Judd Nissen ... Sam
Julie R. Pearl .... Maggie
Jim Rose .... Various Supporting Roles
Marc Singletary .... Holly's Boyfriend
Richard Strobel . ... Bar Patron (Uncredited)
David Weisiger ... Gary
Stoney Westmoreland .... Connor

[Bomberbear]

I heard that this was just screened at the Chicago Film Festival about a week ago.

It's part of the Project Greenlight I think - not sure that part was a little confusing. It might be that the director had been for his first film, and this being his second is not.

It is sounding like it will be a direct-to-home sale, but hopefully that will be soon.

[FillionRules]

SCREENED AT THE 2004 CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL: Project Greenlight’s first foray into reality show filmmaking gave us Pete Jones. He was painted with the stubborn brush, sometimes a cry-baby and fought fight after fight every week with the bosses around him. Creative editing notwithstanding, the end result (Stolen Summer) did not garner the type of reviews that would have absolved a young writer/director who may have been in over his head. Now, I enjoyed Stolen Summer. I found it to be a warm, unobtrusive piece of storytelling with fine actors working up a nice slant of what one of its executive producers deemed a potential after-school special. By description, his follow-up also falls into that category and is more than just a sophomore slump, it’s a call to be held back a grade.

I don’t know if casting himself in the lead role was the wisest decision after the response he received playing Pete Jones in the reality series, but he’s on hand immediately to narrate, pontificate and talk directly to us. Bobby Riley is a closeted homosexual from a large Chicago Irish-Catholic family. Four boys, one girl and now a deceased father. Maggie (Julie R. Pearl) knows Bobby’s secret and has for years, encouraging him to finally find the right opportunity to unleash it upon his brothers; one of whom is a priest.

Bobby’s boyfriend, Andy (Michael McDonald), like all gay partners in the movies also wants him to finally fess up his preference for weiner. That’s the kind of ill-timed joke that brother Connor (Stoney Westmoreland) excels in over-and-over…and over. It’s not funny when he says it either. Neither are the obvious gay jokes which smell of fop sweat from the middle ages. Quips about musical theatre and watching The 700 Club for the hair just lie there and yet called attention to by devices Jones uses to punctuate instead of just letting it be. If lines like “I know I liked the combo of soft lips and bearded cheek the first time I kissed my aunt,” make you laugh, then maybe Outing Riley is for you.

It starts early on as Bobby tells us his predicament and imagines his life as a movie. This pulls in images of naked chicks, helicopters and during a completely out-of-place closing credits sequence – NINJAS! Out-of-place because it belongs nowhere in the movie. Jones also adopts the annoying habit of freezing the frame with every character introduction or just when he feels he has something important to say and doesn’t want the audience to be distracted by those crazy background pictures we like to call a movie.

Outing Riley does slowly overcome its frequent stumbling blocks and settles in thanks in part to nice work from McDonald and particularly Nathan Fillion as Bobby’s closest brother, Luke. Fillion actually played the first, mistaken Private Ryan in Spielberg’s epic and here really shines as the Riley clown who gets hurt deeply that his brother couldn’t at least confide in him. He has a bright future in the business.

One aspect of the film’s screenplay that was appreciated, if with a little less meat than it needed is the concept of “coming out” as a selfish act. Sure it can’t be any fun hiding who you are, but at the same time it’s not an issue that’s supposed to be forced. Who wouldn’t understand Bobby not wanting to tell deathbed dad just to clear his own conscience? It’s part of why sister Maggie is correctly identified (albeit affectionately) as a secret-unleashing “pregnant dog” throughout the film. Part of her means well, but she should think of taking a cue from her big speech when she obviously states that “what people do behind closed doors is their business.”<br>
Chicago natives Jeff Garlin and radio show host, Steve Dahl, are on hand with cameos and we’re always hoping for a local boy to make good, but Outing Riley is false hope. Most of the humor is too obvious to shock and just out-of-date enough to toss out. You could fashion a drinking game out of the priest/altar boy jokes. The gay riffs don’t have the outrage behind them to make them truly biting resulting in material that would make “Just Jack” gag. And that’s no easy feat, but simple enough when you include a truly lame Esther Williams style fantasy sequence that couldn’t be more out of place, except for the ninjas. Jones showed promise as a writer with Stolen Summer, but as a director out on his own he’s got all the nuance of jumping around on camera screaming “Hey ma look, I’m making a movie.” (He even grabs the boom mike at one point and turns the tables.) Maybe he needs someone like producer Chris Moore to kick him in the ass and rein him in from time-to-time. Because if Outing Riley was the first script chosen on Project Greenlight, not only wouldn’t there be an opportunity for Jones’ sophomore slump, there likely wouldn’t have been ANY second Project.


thanks to E filmcretic.com for the review : efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=10922

Darren

[andrea2]

FillionRules said:

I don’t know if casting himself in the lead role was the wisest decision after the response he received playing Pete Jones in the reality series,

As far as I know, Pete Jones offered the lead role to Nathan, but Nathan rather wanted the part of Luke. I haven't seen the movie, but it would have been interesting to see Nathan play a gay guy.

FillionRules said:

and particularly Nathan Fillion as Bobby’s closest brother, Luke. Fillion actually played the first, mistaken Private Ryan in Spielberg’s epic and here really shines as the Riley clown who gets hurt deeply that his brother couldn’t at least confide in him. He has a bright future in the business.

That's our boy. ;D

[Morgoth2001]

andrea2 said:

That's our boy. ;D

Couldn't agree more.

[FillionRules]

an old article on the film. no mention of Nate, but interesting non the less.

PETE JONES' "DOUBTING RILEY" DIARY (part 2)
by Pete Jones
(09/29/2003)


I contacted Chris to see if Film Threat would be interested in a weekly column about the making of an independent film. Chris was kind (stupid) enough to say, "Yes." Selfishly, I thought it would be nice way to get some awareness for "Doubting Riley" and unselfishly, I thought it might be interesting to read a column about independent filmmaking while it’s actually happening. So that’s what I hope this column does.




Unlike "Project Greenlight," I don’t have the studio’s money. Which creates serious problems. But it also gives me incredible freedoms. I thought I’d talk in this first column about the script and how I went about trying to raise the money.




The idea for "Doubting Riley" probably comes from my deep affection for the male body. Is that wrong? The script is about a fun loving Irish Catholic guy who shocks his family by coming out. They think it’s just another prank he’s pulling so he needs to prove to them that he’s not playing a homosexual for giggles. He is gay.




The script is hopefully funny but does not shy away from the relationship between Bobby Riley and his boyfriend Andy. It’s also not afraid to show the frank views that Bobby’s brothers have toward homosexuality, so though the script is light, it does deal with the issues. Which is why, if you haven’t fallen asleep yet, you can see how difficult it was to sell a studio on a gay comedy that hopefully is broad enough for mass audiences but specific enough to cater to the real gay community.




So where do I get the money? Who do I know that has money? Ben Affleck? Matt Damon? Those guys have been incredibly good to me and I appreciate the opportunity they have given me, but I don’t have that kind of friendship with them. So I went to the most logical place. Family. And I pretty much said to them, I’m gonna have to borrow money from you to live on. Why not take that money and put it into a film and then maybe the film’s success can pay you back? "Great. So what do you need? A few grand?" A few grand? Um, how ‘bout 700 grand? nuts.


www.filmthreat.com/Features.asp?Id=744

[CCke]

Hope it's gonna come out in theatres over here. It's not yet on dvd *sniffle* (I checked while ordering Water's Edge, lol) Really can't wait to see it!

[kispexi2]

Suppose there's any chance of this movie being released in the U? I've got my fingers crossed for it to be shown as part of the Glas-Gay! festival.

And yes, Nathan playing a gay guy would be very - uh - interesting.

[FillionRules]

He actually played a gay guy in spin city...

as for it making its way to the uk... i dont know, i`ll have to do some digging. i would imagine the film makers would want to expand the audiencs as much as possible.. perhaps they are waiting for serenity to be realesed before they do anything with it.. because public awareness of Nathan will be raised conciderably.. would be the perfect time to release/showcase the film..

[kispexi2]

He actually played a gay guy in spin city...

Did he?! OMG I have to see that. Gay Nate, Straight Nate, Good Nate, Bad Nate - I love that man in any flavour!

[FillionRules]

LOL.

ITV2 have just started screening spin city from the beginning.. Nate was in like the 3rd or 4th episode i think.. i found out too late that it was being aired and missed his ep. but paramount show the series constantly. as soon as they start from season 1 i`ll record Nates episode and get some screen caps up

[kispexi2]

Squee!

Nathan is in Series 1, Episode 6 - "A star is born".

(I looked it up as soon as you told me about the role. I am so very, very sad!)

Now - how do we get our hands on Nate's Pasadena episodes? Cos Priest!Nate is always worth watching. He was the best thing in that dreadful "Dracula 2000" movie.

[FillionRules]

>>>Now - how do we get our hands on Nate's Pasadena episodes? <<< im working on it.. im all so working out a deal for a load of his One Life to live episodes too.. but keep it under your hat lol


i dont know.. the film was awfull, but i thought Jeri ryan was cool as one of the 3 vamp chicks.. i cant believe that movie has spawned 2 sequels though, it wasnt that good

[kispexi2]

<<im working on it.. i'm all so working out a deal for a load of his One Life to live episodes too..>>

Now I see why you're a God and I'm just a Caleb!

[FillionRules]

lol i have my uses