''Curmudgeons'' is a 2016 American

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

directed, produced by, and starring

Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him ...

. It is written and co-produced by Joshua Conkel. The film was nominated for the Best Narrative Short award in the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

. It was also selected as

Vimeo Vimeo ( ) is an American Online video platform, video hosting, sharing, and services provider founded in 2004 and headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices and operates on a ...

's first official Staff Pick.

Plot summary

Ralph, a foul-mouthed elderly man living in a

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

assisted living facility attended to by Daniela, is visited by his granddaughter, Robin. The two discuss family matters and someone named "Jackie" until Robin inquires if Ralph loved his late wife (Robin's grandmother). Ralph reveals that, although he was fond of his wife, he had never truly fallen in love until now. He is then visited by Brent, Jackie's grandson, who had brought his grandfather along, revealed to be another foul-mouthed old man who happens to be Ralph's lover (in a wheelchair), astonishing Ralph. The couple bemoan the fact that they live separately and briefly get into an argument. Jackie eventually gets Brent and Ralph to slow dance together in lieu of himself (as he is recovering from hip surgery), savouring the moment. Robin and Daniela join in, also dancing together. Jackie abruptly stops the music and proposes to Ralph. The entire visit is revealed to have been a plan by the four of them. Ralph, overcome with disbelief and emotion, embraces Jackie and accepts his proposal.

Cast

David Margulies David Joseph Margulies (February 19, 1937 – January 11, 2016) was an American actor. He is known for his role as Lenny Clotch, the Mayor of New York City in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984) and ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), and his recurring role as Neil ...

as Ralph Pajovic *

as Jackie *

Lucy DeVito Lucy Chet DeVito (born March 11, 1983) is an American actress. She was a recurring character on ABC Family's ''Melissa & Joey'' (2010–2012), starred in the Hulu sitcom ''Deadbeat'' (2014–2015), and was a main voice actor and executive produ ...

as Robin * Sarah Nina Hayon as Daniela *

Kett Turton Birkett Kealy "Kett" Turton (born April 4, 1982) is an American-Canadian actor who had a starring role in the television series '' Dead Last'' (2001).Rosenberg, Howard (2001) "WB Summer Offering Ends Up a 'Dead' Bore", ''Los Angeles Times'', Augu ...

as Brent

Production

In 2012, DeVito and his daughter, Lucy, watched a one-act play at the

Ensemble Studio Theatre The Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) is a non-profit membership-based developmental theatre located in Hell's Kitchen, New York City. It has a dual mission of nurturing individual theatre artists and developing new American plays. Overview The E ...

Manhattan, New York Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, where Lucy worked. The play was written by Conkel, and starred Margulies as Ralph. Lucy suggested that it be turned into a film, and in the summer of 2015, asked Conkel if he wished to write the screenplay for the film, which he did. DeVito took up the mantle of director, while Jake and Lucy took the job of producer. The film was shot over the span of three days in a Brooklyn senior home. Margulies died in January 2016, a few months before the film's release. DeVito was able to show him the finished film before his death.

Reception

The film was received well by critics. Collin Souter, writing for ''

RogerEbert.com ''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times ...

'', praised the film, describing it as "very funny, romantic and one of the most heartfelt short films you’ll ever see." Jeffrey Bowers, from ''Vimeo Blog'', noted that the film had a "decidedly un-Hollywood vibe," in part due to it being a "labor of love and a family affair." ''Curmudgeons'' was also chosen to be the first Vimeo Staff Pick Premiere.

References

External links

Official film page

Curmudgeons
at

* {{Danny DeVito 2016 films 2016 short films American comedy short films Short films directed by Danny DeVito Films produced by Danny DeVito Films scored by Jon Brion American LGBTQ-related short films 2010s English-language films 2016 LGBTQ-related films English-language comedy short films