Movie #1346 ........................."Brave New Jersey"

Movie #1346 "Brave New Jersey"  was the last film we saw at the Phoenix Festival, and it was just okay, yet it won the audience favorite award --- we weren't sure why.  We reacted with a big "ho hum" --- first, it was difficult to believe that the ENTIRE town didn't know that the Orson Welles' "War of the World" on the radio was just a broadcast and not a real life alien invasion.  Second, there seem to be a lack of consistency with the script, esp. with one female character who becomes a mercenary by the end of the film.  But there are a couple of really good performances that kept me watching:  Tony Hale (from "Veep") played the meek mayor of the town, Heather Burns (from "Miss Congeniality) a repressed and dominated female wife, and Sam Jaeger (from "Parenthood") the dominating hubby, Erika Alexander (from "Cosby Show") as a strong-willed member of the church, and Dan Bakkedahl (from "Life in Pieces) as the flaky parish minister!  All of these and more characters react to this possible alien invasion, and it gets pretty silly.  But the stronger actors are able to make me believe that this was a possibility.  I would give it 3 stars out of 5.


BRAVE NEW JERSEY    1 hour and 26 mins       2016

A comedy about a small New Jersey town on the night of Orson Welles' legendary 1938 "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast, which led millions of listeners to believe the U.S. was being invaded by Martians.

Director:

 Jody Lambert

Writers:

 Michael Dowling,  Jody Lambert

Stars:

 Anna Camp,  Evan Jonigkeit,  Raymond J. Barry, Tony Hale, Dan Bakkedahl, Erika Alexander, Heather Burns, and Sam Jaeger.