Paul Downs Colaizzo takes a dull pencil-to-paper with his new work,
Really Really. New take on an old issue? Rape. But as we come to learn, there are always three or four sides to every coin. Perhaps it wasn't
really rape. Circumstances really do matter.
Set deep in the me generation's barely post-college genre, we get a splash of several issues du jour - lazy rich kids, gold-digging other-side-of-the-trackers, privileged kids who are damaged in some way we just can't notice at first, alcohol, sex, sexual politics and more.
The trouble with this one is that it's got that "I've seen it on
Lifetime (Television for Women) about 17 years ago. It's like a visit to
Doing time on Maple Drive - the Next Generation. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of skin and muscles on these boys to keep even a monkey's eyes glued to the stage for hours.
David Hull (aptly WASP-ily named, Cooper) and
Matt Lauria (aptly WASP-ily named, Davis) provide plenty of jaw dropping eye-candy (too bad it wasn't just a smidge hotter in the theatre, the sweat glistening on them would have been glorious).
Evan Jonigkeit (also aptly simply named Jimmy) while plenty of eye-candy himself, provides a bit of contrast in Jimmy's looks, brains, and upbringing.
Zosia Mamet (Leigh) takes center stage as she weaves her web along with her sister, Haley (
Aleque Reid). And
Kobi Libii (Johnson) weaves his geeky, smart, and nervously endearing self into your heart along the way.
Lauren Culpepper (Grace) provides that self-deprecating comedy of her character that lightens the load several times.
I think it was the nature of the subject-matter, not necessarily the actors, that made this feel a bit amateurish. The actors all seemed quite rehearsed and well-directed (and yes, easy on the eyes). In the end, the story was a bit trite - with a new twist that just couldn't overcome the feeling of a weekend snowed in watching reruns on cable TV.
