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Ham on Rye is a 2019 American independent film directed by Tyler Taormina.[1][2] An offbeat subversion of the coming-of-age genre, the film features an expansive ensemble cast, including cameo appearances by actors Lori Beth Denberg, Danny Tamberelli, Aaron Schwartz, and Clayton Snyder.

Ham on Rye
Official poster
Directed by	Tyler Taormina
Written by	Tyler Taormina Eric Berger
Produced by	Kevin Anton Michael Basta Eric Berger David Croley Broyles David Entin Carson Lund Tyler Taormina Sergio Uguet de Resayre
Starring	Haley Bodell Cole Devine
Cinematography	Carson Lund
Edited by	Kevin Anton
Music by	Deuter
Production companies	Tago Clearing Film Studio Omnes Films
Distributed by	Factory 25
Release dates	February 8, 2019 (2019-02-08) (Santa Barbara International Film Festival) October 23, 2020 (2020-10-23) (United States)
Running time	85 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The film had its world premiere on February 8, 2019 at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and international premiere on August 10, 2019 at Locarno Festival in Switzerland. Factory 25 acquired the distribution rights and released the film theatrically on October 23, 2020.[3]

Plot

All of the teenagers in Haley's hometown dress in their grandparents' best clothing on what is said to be the most important day of their lives. With nervous excitement, they make a scattered pilgrimage across town, drawn to an unknown fate. Haley walks at a more reluctant pace, skeptical of the timeworn tradition and the bizarre coming-of-age ritual that awaits them at their destination. When they finally arrive at Monty's, a local delicatessen, the clusters of local teens join together in a surreal ceremony of food, dance, and romantic angst that will determine the course of their lives forever. Many of the teens are granted instantaneous escape from the clutches of suburbia while an unchosen few are left to dwell interminably in their vacant hometown.[4]

Cast

Production

The film was shot in about two weeks on a RED Scarlet X 4K camera. The film contains over a hundred cast members and sixty locations.[5][6]

Tyler Taormina says of the look and feel of the film:

It was really important for us to evoke the 60s, the 70s, the 80s, and the 90s. We wanted them all to be compiled in this aesthetic that was sheer nostalgia.[6]

Director of Photography, Carson Lund, describes the stylistic choices as:

... an eccentric middle ground between art cinema polish and the simplicity of Nickelodeon shows Tyler and I fondly recall from our youth.[5]

Reception

Richard Brody of The New Yorker commented in his review that the film "has an aching tenderness of a rare power" and that it "has the uncanny echo of a disturbing real-life dream".[7]

K. Austin Collins of Rolling Stone acclaimed the film, calling it "one of a kind and completely unforgettable".[8]

Linda Keršnerová of MUBI praised the film as "wildly enjoyable" and "a distinctive and fresh piece of cinematic art" in her review from the 72nd annual Locarno Festival.[9]

Chuck Bowen of Slant Magazine lauded the film as "elegant, grand" and noted that "Ham on Rye’s aesthetic is breathtaking, especially considering the film’s shoestring production".[10]

In Glenn Kenny's Critic's Pick review for The New York Times, he calls the film "impressive... disquieting and poignant".[11]

Ty Burr of The Boston Globe writes in his review that the film is "haunting and hard-to-pigeonhole... a work of gentle, genuine American surrealism".[12]

Caleb Hammond of MovieMaker Magazine called the film "delightful" in his round-up of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2019.[13]

The film holds a 96% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 23 reviews with an average rating of 7.8/10.[14]

References

External links

• Official website
• Ham on Rye at IMDb

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