Lost and Found in Cleveland
After floating the Tennessee Williams quote 'America has only three cities: New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Everywhere else is Cleveland,' the debuting writer/director duo of Keith Gerchak and Marisa Guterman invite us into the uniquely quirky city and introduce us to some very interesting and diverse folk all thrilled about the upcoming Christmastime visit from the 'Antiques Roadshow'-esque television show, "Lost and Found in Cleveland."
Laura's Review: B-
These first time feature filmmakers had a great idea for a comedy, the type of thing Christopher Guest would have knocked out of the park twenty years ago. But rather than taking the mockumentary approach, Gerchak and Guterman go for comedy with heart and while their film takes a while to find its feet, when they eventually get to the climactic 'Lost and Found' taping and its aftermath, the film is sweetly satisfying.
The main issue with the film is that it hops around too much while we're trying to get to know the people who will be bringing family heirlooms and found treasures to be appraised on 'Lost and Found,' creating a chaotic busyness. A plant closure which will result in the loss of 3,000 jobs is mentioned more than once, but doesn't appear to affect anyone in this story. We don't know why Sara (Esther Povitsky, TV's 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend') and Gary (Santino Fontana, TV's 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend') have recently moved to the city, although it is later implied Gary's collection of Aunt Jemima items inherited from his grandmother tagged him as racist. She's just fine with the items, inviting Gary's boss, her dental client, and his wife, a black couple they are friendly with, to dinner to get their opinion. The concept is sound, but the execution of the conundrum weak (why, for example, are they such good friends with a couple in a city they've just moved to?).
The film steps up with expecting single mom Maria (Yvette Yates Redick, "Inherent Vice"), a waitress, and her son Charlie (Benjamin Steinhauser), the latter obsessed with Cleveland's own President William McKinley, a quirk which will be carried throughout the film, including a mother and son trip to the decidedly lo-tech McKinley Museum and Presidential Library where the ticket taker ('you're number 5 and 6 today!') doubles as a participant in multiple exhibits, one of the film's most inspired bits. We'll meet elderly couple Gladys (June Squibb, "Thelma") and Will Sokolowski (Stacy Keach), she still working as a librarian who finds an old book on McKinley for Charlie, he beginning to be affected by dementia, lapsing into his WWII days and denying his beloved wife's requests to try a new restaurant because he's afraid to drive to the East Side, outside of his comfort zone. Sophie Mathers (Liza Weil, "Stir of Echoes"), whose husband appears to prefer to be away on business, is all aflutter with an antiquity purchased on a recent trip she's convinced will floor the 'Lost and Found' folks. She clashes with her daughter Hannah (Vanessa Burghardt), who resists her attempts to make her over and set her up with a politician's son, and she has servants oddly dressed like Amish. But another great character is to be found in Mailman Marty Anderson (Dennis Haysbert, "Far from Heaven"), a gourmet whose late mother Rosemary (R.M. Allen) is fondly remembered by a butcher in Cleveland's West Side Market, who also collects vases, his most recent acquisition, a plain glass vase used for another purpose in an antiques store, just given to him by proprietor Mr. Jin (Scott Shirai).
The film dunks on the 'Antiques Roadshow' host's name by renaming him Tom L. Hanks here ('Antiques Roadshow' host Mark L. Walberg plays the part). He'll kick things off with a bizarre bit with Cleveland's mayor (Jon Lovitz). Sharon (Dot-Marie Jones, TV's 'Glee') walks about giving floor direction via walkie talkie, noting the dustiness of a red slipper worn by Sara Bernhardt on display (we will later get Roadshow style history about how 'The Wizard of Oz' was actually a story about Cleveland's politics). Joy Morris (Loretta Devine) first assuages Gary's guilt by talking about the importance of teaching about stereotype with Black memorabilia and then delights Charlie by confirming what he'd hoped to learn with his handwritten letter. Expert Graham Hargreaves (Jeff Hiller, HBO's 'Somebody Somewhere') stuns Will with his assessment of the Greek plates left to him by an old Army buddy because 'they reminded him of Will' ('I've been trying to tell you for sixty years,' says Gladys) then proceeds to tell us exactly what we had expected regarding Mathers' supposed show stopper ('Sometimes it's not about who you know, but what you know'). Various strangers are interspersed getting the goods on their goods before glass expert Dr. Austin Raybourne (Martin Sheen) gives us an extensive history on Marty's simple vase, one of three from his collection of three hundred he decided to bring because 'it spoke to him.' This is the item that makes the most momentous change for its owner and provides the film's warm-hearted coda, one which sees Will finally drive to the East Side.
Cleveland may be dissed by the 'Lost and Found' production, but the filmmakers give us an affectionate view of the city. The piano and violin score is heavily augmented with a selection of oldies which fit its personality. Gerchak and Guterman's film has some bumps, but they've shepherded their large ensemble into a happy, holiday spirit.
"Lost and Found in Cleveland" has its world premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival on 10/19/24.
