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''Escanaba in da Moonlight'' is a 2001 American comedy film written, directed, and starring
Jeff Daniels Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor. He is known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accolades, including two Primetime ...
. It is a comedy about hunting and hunting traditions and is set (and filmed) in the
Escanaba, Michigan Escanaba ( ), commonly shortened to Esky, is a port city and the county seat of Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located on Little Bay de Noc in the state's Upper Peninsula. The population was 12,450 at the 2020 census, making it the ...
area. The film uses Upper Peninsula language and slang. The movie is the film adaptation of the play of the same name, which premiered at Daniels' Purple Rose Theatre in
Chelsea, Michigan Chelsea is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,467 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History The area was first settled as early as 1820 within the Michigan Terri ...
.


Plot

Reuben Soady (Daniels) goes to the hunting camp cottage, otherwise known as deer camp, with his father Albert (played by
Harve Presnell George Harvey Presnell (; September 14, 1933 – June 30, 2009) was an American actor and singer. He began his career in the mid-1950s as a classical baritone, singing with orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States. His career ...
), brother Remnar (Joey Albright) and Jimmy "The Jimmer" Negamanee from
Menominee The Menominee ( ; meaning ''"Menominee People"'', also spelled Menomini, derived from the Ojibwe language word for "Wild Rice People"; known as ''Mamaceqtaw'', "the people", in the Menominee language) are a federally recognized tribe of Na ...
(Wayne David Parker). If Reuben, now 43, doesn't manage to shoot a buck by the end of the season, he will become the oldest Soady in recorded history not to have achieved this task, a taboo that leads people in the community to believe he is
jinx A jinx (also jynx), in popular superstition and folklore, is a curse or the attribute of attracting bad or negative luck. Examples of "jinxing" in the 21st-century press include the suggestion a ship might be "jinxed". The connection was made wi ...
ed. Reuben breaks with tradition, taking advice from his Native American wife Wolf Moon Dance (
Kimberly Norris Guerrero Kimberly Norris Guerrero (née Norris; born 1967), is an American actress and screenwriter. She has over two dozen screen appearances, generally playing roles of Indigenous women. Norris played Gen. Custer's American Indian wife in the movie '' ...
), who offers him spiritual remedies involving a drink made with moose testicles and scenting himself with porcupine urine to protect him from evil spirits and attract his prey to him. After various unexplainable phenomena, they meet a DNR officer, Tom T. Treado (Randall Godwin), who claims to have literally seen God on the ridge. At various times, Reuben, Jimmer, and ranger Tom all get possessed by spirits. Eventually, Reuben runs out into the cold wearing only his long underwear and a hat, and finds himself face-to-face with the ghost of his dead great-grandfather Alphonse Soady, who guides him to shooting a buck sent for him by the spirits. Reuben returns triumphantly.


Cast

*
Jeff Daniels Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor. He is known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accolades, including two Primetime ...
as Reuben Soady *
Harve Presnell George Harvey Presnell (; September 14, 1933 – June 30, 2009) was an American actor and singer. He began his career in the mid-1950s as a classical baritone, singing with orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States. His career ...
as Albert Soady *
Kimberly Norris Guerrero Kimberly Norris Guerrero (née Norris; born 1967), is an American actress and screenwriter. She has over two dozen screen appearances, generally playing roles of Indigenous women. Norris played Gen. Custer's American Indian wife in the movie '' ...
as Wolf Moon Dance Soady * Joey Albright as Remnar Soady/Porcelain Bus Dancer * Randall Godwin as Ranger Tom T. Treado * Wayne David Parker as Jimmer Negamanee * James Porterfield as Alphonse Soady * Guy Sanville as Alvin Soady


See also

*
Yooper dialect North-Central American English is an American English dialect, or dialect in formation, native to the Upper Midwestern United States, an area that somewhat overlaps with speakers of the Inland Northern dialect situated more in the eastern Gre ...


References


External links

* * * {{Mojo title, escanabaindamoonlight 2001 films 2001 comedy films 2001 independent films American comedy films American independent films 2000s English-language films American films based on plays Films directed by Jeff Daniels Films with screenplays by Jeff Daniels Films set in 1989 Films about hunting Films set in Michigan Films shot in Michigan Upper Peninsula of Michigan 2001 directorial debut films Magic realism films 2000s American films English-language independent films English-language comedy films