Search - The Stand-In on DVD

A sweet movie about following your dreams

filmlvr | Matawan, NJ United States | 03/25/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Bought this film because I am a fan of Kelly ripa's and she is very good, but I was touched by the dear little film that shows the very difficult aspect of trying to make it as an actor.I REALLY enjoyed the subplot including the wonderful performance of A Differnt World's Lou Myers, as the former Negro League baseall player that the main character befriends in the nursing home. He was funny brash and poignant.Photography was nothing special, many medium shots, but just a sweet tale that I thoroughly enjoyed."

Charming, if a little raw

indie fan from NY | NY, NY | 05/04/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a very charming story about a person trying to go after the dream of becoming an actor. A story heard before but told in a very true sense and the many comedic pitfalls that befall someone pursuing this goal. Kelly looked very pretty, but I agree in one of the other reviews that Lou Myers stole the show as Half-Step Wilson. A cute independent film."

Terrible

UES | 12/07/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"The idea is not a bad one: a New Jersey boy decides not to go to law school after college and instead heads to New York to fulfill his dream of being an actor. In the process, he disappoints his working-class father, loses his beloved girlfriend, and meets humiliation and failure.

The execution, unfortunately, is awful. Except for a very young Kelly Ripa, who plays the role of the girlfriend quite charmingly, the actors are just awful. You'd think Robbie Bryan would be believable in the part of the struggling actor, since he wrote the movie, which is based on his own life story, but I'm afraid Mr. Bryan has absolutely no talent whatsoever. The rest of the cast is not much better and the directing manages to be clichéd and slightly ridiculous.

Unless you want to be an actor, and need to be reminded that the path is hard and the odds of success are minimal, there's no reason to see this movie."

No Wonder This Guy Struggled As An Actor...

Abby Griffin | APO AE | 11/12/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"My roommate and I watched this film and both agreed it was a train wreck--horrible, but we couldn't look away. I found myself frequently and painfully embarrassed on behalf of the actors. You would think a man who participates in a movie about his own life would be able to create, at the very least, a mildly believable portrayal of his character. If you're expecting a display of talent, you're asking too much as this Robbie Bryan guy (whoever he is) has none. The whole movie is choppy, cheesy, poorly edited, and many scenes left both of us looking at each other in puzzlement, saying "Huh? What in the world did that have to do with anything?" We were exceedingly grateful for the lack of any steamy scenes between Robbie Bryan and Kelly Ripa. He's about as far from a heart-throb as you can get. Even though Kelly Ripa's name is all over the case, she appears in perhaps five total minutes of the film. We also couldn't believe this movie was made in 1999. Everything from the "cool" slang to the clothes indicated that it was filmed in the very early 90's. After the movie ended, my roommate looked at me and said "Who in the world approved that project?" That pretty much sums up the this disaster of a self-indulgent (on Mr. Bryan's behalf), silly film. If I could give it negative stars, I would."