''Everything's Jake'' is a
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
distributed by
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
The movie marks the feature writing and directorial debut of Matthew Miele, along with his producing/writing partner, Chris Fetchko. Aside from the film title referring to the main character, it is also a slang expression from the
Roaring Twenties
The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the ...
in the United States, meaning "everything is in good order".
Plot
Within the most storied city in the world lives Jake (
Ernie Hudson
Earnest Lee Hudson (born December 17, 1945) is an American actor. His roles include Winston Zeddemore in the ''Ghostbusters'' film series, Sergeant Darryl Albrecht in ''The Crow'' (1994), and Warden Leo Glynn on HBO's '' Oz'' (1997–2003). H ...
), a
homeless
Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are:
* living on the streets, also kn ...
man who calls all of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...
his home. Jake discovers Cameron (Graeme Malcolm), a man down on his luck and sleeping in a tree in
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
.
Taking Cameron under his wing, Jake teaches him how to survive on the streets. Jake's friendship with Cameron winds up threatening Jake's way of life, a life no one ever thought could possibly exist, lived with heart and spirit, and a charming embrace of the city. In this heartwarming and beautifully-shot film, homelessness is shown in a new light, illustrated with a stellar performance by
Ernie Hudson
Earnest Lee Hudson (born December 17, 1945) is an American actor. His roles include Winston Zeddemore in the ''Ghostbusters'' film series, Sergeant Darryl Albrecht in ''The Crow'' (1994), and Warden Leo Glynn on HBO's '' Oz'' (1997–2003). H ...
, alongside a number of star-studded cameos.
Cast
*
Ernie Hudson
Earnest Lee Hudson (born December 17, 1945) is an American actor. His roles include Winston Zeddemore in the ''Ghostbusters'' film series, Sergeant Darryl Albrecht in ''The Crow'' (1994), and Warden Leo Glynn on HBO's '' Oz'' (1997–2003). H ...
as Jake
*Graeme Malcolm as Cameron
*
Willis Burks
Willis Burks II (October 25, 1935 – November 21, 2010), sometimes credited as Willis Burks or Willis Burks Jr., was an American television, film, Theatre, stage and voice actor whose acting career spanned more than thirty years.
Burks was born ...
as Colonel
*
Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Ada Diller (née Driver; July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her eccentric stage persona, self-deprecating humor, wild hair and clothes, and ...
as Misty
*
Doug E. Doug
Doug E. Doug (born Douglas Bourne; January 7, 1970) is an American actor. He started his career at age 17 as a stand-up comedian. He played the role of Griffin Vesey on the CBS sitcom '' Cosby'', Sanka Coffie in the film ''Cool Runnings'', an ...
as
Taxicab
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choi ...
Driver
*
Stephen Furst
Stephen Furst (born Stephen Nelson Feuerstein; May 8, 1954 – June 16, 2017) was an American actor, director and producer. After gaining attention with his featured role as Kent "Flounder" Dorfman in the comedy film ''National Lampoon's An ...
as Assistant
Librarian
A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users.
The role of the librarian has changed much over time ...
*
Robin Givens
Robin may refer to:
Animals
* Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae
* Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including:
**European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'')
** Bush-robin
** Forest ...
as Publisher
*
Lou Myers
Lou Myers (1915 – November 20, 2005) was a cartoonist and short story writer.
He was the first person since James Thurber to contribute both cartoons and articles to ''The New Yorker''. His work has also appeared in ''The New York Times'', '' ...
as Abe
*
Lou Rawls
Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his s ...
as Hot Dog Vendor
*
Debbie Allen
Deborah Kaye Allen (born January 16, 1950) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an ...
as
Librarian
A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users.
The role of the librarian has changed much over time ...
Critical reception
"
Ernie Hudson
Earnest Lee Hudson (born December 17, 1945) is an American actor. His roles include Winston Zeddemore in the ''Ghostbusters'' film series, Sergeant Darryl Albrecht in ''The Crow'' (1994), and Warden Leo Glynn on HBO's '' Oz'' (1997–2003). H ...
delivers a consummately warm and satisfying performance." — ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
''
Film festivals/awards
2000 Atlantic City Film Festival — Grand Prize — Full Feature
2000
Santa Barbara International Film Festival
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California since 1986.
The festival boasts screenings of over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. SBIFF al ...
— Burning Vision Award — Special Mention
2006 Big Apple Film Festival — Festival Prize — Best Feature
External links
Official Site*
DVD Review from Moving Pictures MagazineDVD Review from The Trades
2000 films
American independent films
2000 drama films
Warner Bros. films
2000 directorial debut films
2000s English-language films
2000s American films
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