Walkaway Joe

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source: Walkaway Joe

It was hard to pay attention to this movie. The storyline was rather dull and frankly I can't understand how there are any good reviews. Were those people watching the same movie? The nightly news, as depressing as it can be, is more entertaining.

I have enormous respect for both Jeffrey Dean Morgan and David Strathairn and this is a movie about the relationship between boys and their fathers. How could this go wrong in any way? Well, unexplainably, it did. While the story in the film is charming, it is also completely predictable and barren of any subtlety. A big minus was the lead actor, Julian Feder, who had the emotional range of a two by four, while at the same time having no other positive attributes. I mean, his character was not a meathead muscleman who didn't need to show emotion, only punch people, he was a goofy fourteen year old who was trying to get his asshold father to come back to his family. The actor should have gone from crying his eyes out to smashing things and through cold hearted mean spirited and thoughtless words. He only managed the latter. And this film had so much potential. Strathairn also went with a subdued, more cerebral take, while Jeff Morgan was awesome in how well he portrayed the worthless pool hustler. I mean, even his posture was completely different from his usual roles. Unfortunately he had only a few scenes and that was all. His mother should have had a bigger role, too. I actually like Julie Ann Emery a lot, too, but she had like four scenes in the whole thing. I mean, this could have been another Over the Top. I know that wasn't the greatest movie of all times, but it stayed with me. Unfortunately Walkaway Joe rises very little over day TV film quality and I will not remember it. Too bad.

I loved this movie! It is a great story filled with rich, complex characters. The acting performances by Jefferey Dean Morgan and David Strathairn were superb. The young, talented Julian Feder was equally impressive, holding his own alongside Strathairn and Morgan with an outstanding, understated perfomance. I also appreciate that this is a movie you can watch with the entire family-a great thing now that so many of us are at home with our families.

I think this film should at least be a 8. Love the storyline and the build up of the characters right to the very end. Julian Feder who plays Dallas did an exceptional job in his role and was a real stand out. Watch it with your family and support this film!

The film wasn't rated, but I think it would probably be a PG or PG13 movie. There is some smoking, some mild violence and one or two curse words. Knowing this, I will leave it up to you, if you think appropriate for your children, but I am very comfortable with my 9 and 14 year olds watching the movie. The characters played by David Strathairn, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Julian Feder and Julie Ann Emery are all good realistic characters and are acted well. The story is about a young man and his father, who are in the middle of making some bad choices and Joe (David Strathairn) has already made his and has been suffering for years. The young man, Dallas (Julian Feder), is searching for his father, who has left him for a life on his own playing pool. Dallas is at first reluctantly helped by Joe. However, when the boy shows a kind gesture, Joe continues to help him. In some ways, Joe was like Cal (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) at a period in his life (we later learn he suffered a tragedy), but has learned and continues to learn through Dallas the importance of friendship and fatherhood. With each others help, Joe and Dallas find some redemption and peace. The Cal character leaves with issues still to be resolved. I won't give it away. I really appreciated the selflessness and mentorship expressed in the film. I was tremendously moved by the ending and hopeful for Joe. I recommend this film.