The Mattachine Family is an American comedy-drama film directed by Andy Vallentine and released in 2023.[1] The film stars Nico Tortorella and Juan Pablo Di Pace as Thomas and Oscar, a gay couple who have spent a year as foster parent to a six year old boy whose mother was in jail; however, when she is released and regains custody of her son, Thomas and Oscar are forced to confront their very different visions for what they want out of life when they find themselves in disagreement on whether to pursue true parenthood.[2]
| The Mattachine Family | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Andy Vallentine |
| Written by | Danny Vallentine |
| Produced by | Scot Boland Michael Diaz Siddharth Ganji Stuart Heinlein Cameron Hutchison Andy Vallentine |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Julia Swain |
| Edited by | Jonathan Melin |
| Music by | Lauren Culjak |
Production company | Huckleberry Films |
| Distributed by | Giant Pictures Peccadillo Pictures Salzgeber Optimale GagaOOLala |
Release date |
|
Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The cast also includes Emily Hampshire as Leah, Thomas's friend who is also grappling with queer parenthood as she has recently suffered a miscarriage, as well as Heather Matarazzo, Cloie Wyatt Taylor, Jake Choi, Garrett Clayton, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Travis DuBridge, Colleen Foy, Jude Friedman, Annie Funke, Khalilah Joi and Jeanine Harrington in supporting roles.
Plot
editThe photographer, Thomas, captured his life story with photos. He realized he was gay when he saw a cartoon with muscular men. Thomas tells the story of Oscar, a famous child star on a popular sitcom whose acting career ended with a tabloid story that outed him. Eventually, Thomas would marry Oscar.
Thomas and Oscar are very much in love and live in their shared apartment in Los Angeles. When they have to return their first foster child, Arthur, to his birth mother, who has been released from prison after a year, they ask themselves how to proceed with their family planning and realize that they have different ideas about it after this experience. However, they have their chosen family consisting of friends who face their challenges in building a family. While Thomas' lesbian friend Leah and her wife Sonia are still waiting to get pregnant, their friend Annie is raising a child with her gay best friend Todd.[3][4][5]
Cast
edit- Nico Tortorella as Thomas
- Juan Pablo Di Pace as Oscar
- Emily Hampshire as Leah
- Carl Clemons-Hopkins as Todd
- Heather Matarazzo as Annie
- Cloie Wyatt Taylor as Sonia
- Jake Choi as Jamie
Production
editIt was directed by video and commercial film director Andy Vallentine. The film's screenplay was written by Danny Vallentine, the director's husband, and is based partly on their real-life relationship.[6] It went into production in fall 2021.[7] Andy Vallentine has previously made several short films, most recently The Letter Men, which he presented at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2022 and based on a series of love letters from a gay couple during World War II.[8]The Mattachine Family is his feature film debut.[4] Zach Braff was an executive producer of the film.[7]
The film's title is a reference to the Mattachine Society, a gay rights organization founded by Harry Hay, whose goal is to create greater acceptance of homosexuality. The organization also previously lobbied to repeal the criminalization of homosexuality in the states of the United States.[5]
Nico Tortorella and Argentinian Juan Pablo Di Pace play Thomas and Oscar. Carl Clemons-Hopkins was cast as Todd, and the Canadian Emily Hampshire as Thomas' lesbian friend Leah.[5] Cloie Wyatt Taylor plays Leah's wife, Sonia. Heather Matarazzo appears in a cameo as Annie.[5] Jake Choi and Annie Funke can also be seen in other roles.[4] Garrett Clayton and Matthew Postlethwaite, who previously starred as Gilbert Bradley and Gordon Bowsher in The Letter Men, can be seen in the roles of Jake and Sam.
Distribution
editThe film premiered in the New American Cinema competition at the 2023 Seattle International Film Festival.[9] It was subsequently screened at film festivals, including the Frameline Film Festival,[10] Outfest,[11] Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival,[12] and the 2023 Calgary International Film Festival.[13]
Reception
editReviews
editAll of the reviews listed on Rotten Tomatoes are positive.[14]
Film Threat's Andrew Stover writes in his review that Nico Tortorella impresses with his undeniable charm and winning smile as the central character in The Mattachine Family, even in moments where his pain over the loss of Arthur comes to the fore.
Awards
editCalgary International Film Festival 2023
- Nomination for Best International Feature Film (Andy Vallentine) [15]
FilmOut San Diego 2023
- Award for Best Screenplay with the FilmOut Festival Award (Andy Vallentine and Danny Vallentine)[16]
Seattle International Film Festival 2023
- Nomination in the New American Cinema Competition (Andy Vallentine)
- Nomination for Best Performance (Nico Tortorella)[3]
OUT at the Movies International Film Festival 2023
- Nomination for Best Narrative Feature Jury Award
- Nomination for Best Narrative Feature Audience Award
Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival 2023
- Nomination for Adam Baran Humanitarian Award (Andy Vallentine)
Streaming
editReferences
edit- ^ Andrew Stover, "The Mattachine Family" Archived 2023-09-25 at the Wayback Machine. Film Threat, October 15, 2023.
- ^ Ariel Messman-Rucker, "Hunky Nico Tortorella Stars in Queer Dramedy 'The Mattachine Family'" Archived 2023-11-23 at the Wayback Machine. Pride, May 12, 2023.
- ^ a b The Mattachine Family. In: siff.net. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ a b c Matt Grobar: 'The Mattachine Family': Nico Tortorella, Juan Pablo Di Pace, Carl Clemons-Hopkins & Emily Hampshire To Star In Drama Exec Produced By Zach Braff. In: deadline.com, 3 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d Parth Pant: The Mattachine Family (2023) Review: A Sloppy But Sincere Look At The Queer Meaning of Family and Parenthood. In: highonfilms.com, 13 May 2023.
- ^ Max Milne, "Telling the untold: Midland native Andy Vallentine shares personal challenges on silver screen". Midland Daily News, July 24, 2023.
- ^ a b Matt Grobar, "'The Mattachine Family': Nico Tortorella, Juan Pablo Di Pace, Carl Clemons-Hopkins & Emily Hampshire To Star In Drama Exec Produced By Zach Braff" Archived 2024-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Deadline Hollywood, November 3, 2021.
- ^ Markos Papadatos: Andy Vallentine talks about writing and directing 'The Letter Men' short film. In: digitaljournal.com, 26 April 2022.
- ^ Quimberly Anne, "'Younger's Nico Tortorella Grapples with Fatherhood in Queer Dramedy" Archived 2023-11-23 at the Wayback Machine. Instinct, May 12, 2023.
- ^ Valerie Complex, "Frameline Announces Full Program For The 47th Annual San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival" Archived 2023-11-23 at the Wayback Machine. Deadline Hollywood, May 19, 2023.
- ^ Dan Allen, "10 films you must not miss during Outfest 2023's second half" Archived 2023-11-23 at the Wayback Machine. Los Angeles Blade, July 18, 2023.
- ^ "'The Mattachine Family' to open Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Fest Sept. 21" Archived 2023-11-23 at the Wayback Machine. Windy City Times, August 2, 2023.
- ^ Navid Nikkhah Azad, "Lineup for 2023 Calgary International Film Festival revealed" Archived 2023-10-02 at the Wayback Machine. ZIZ News, August 31, 2023.
- ^ The Mattachine Family. In: Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ Navid Nikkhah Azad: Lineup for 2023 Calgary International Film Festival revealed. In: ziz.news, 31 August 2023.
- ^ The Mattachine Family. In: filmoutsandiego.com. Retrieved 13 November 2023.