I was afraid of this movie. As a Kalamazoo resident, I was afraid I would only like it because it was in Kalamazoo. Then I realized I was afraid that I wouldn't like it ONLY because it was in Kalamazoo. The time it took me to work through that was the same time it took for me to get over the novelty of seeing my town on the big screen and the time it took for the characters to start to develop. And develop they did. Just having come from a high school reunion -- a few decades past the 10th -- I was pretty receptive to the theme, but I really wasn't prepared for the warmth and emotion surrounding the characters and found myself pulling for them. I was pleased that the high level of cinematography didn't make this feel like a small picture, and I was pleased with the brightness of the surrounding cast that helped strengthen the fact that growing up is about relationships, something that it takes several reunions for a lot of people to get. In that regard, the criticism that females were focused on the family part of their lives was off the mark. I would encourage our children, who are just in that 10th-range, to see the movie for just that message. Ultimately, though, it's not a message-movie, per se, but a movie that builds to make you feel for these specific characters. Very cool.
