DAYTRIPPERS

US, 1996, 86 minutes, Colour.
Stanley Tucci, Hope Davis, Pat Mc Namara, Anne Meara, Parker Posey, Liev Schreiber, Campbell Scott, Douglas Mc Grath, Amy Stiller, Marcia Gay Hardin.
Directed by Greg Mottola.

Daytrippers is very funny in its modest way. A wife becomes suspicious about her husband's behaviour and tells her parents as well as her sister (whose fiancee is in town). Together they spend the day searching New York for him to confront him. On the way, they encounter a whole lot of entertainingly eccentric characters - and there was a twist in the ending that I did not foresee. Films like this depend on audience's liking for characters, for their idiosyncracies and amusing repartee and comic situations. Daytrippers worked well on all these levels. What a difference a day makes. Mottola later directed Superbad and Adventureland.

1.The acclaim for this film? Writer-director? The cast?

2.The trip from Long Island to New York City? A suburban road movie? Driving around Manhattan? The landscapes, the cityscapes? An authentic feel? The musical score?

3.The title, the reference to Eliza and her family? In search of the truth about Louis?

4.The set-up: the Malone family, Eliza married to Louis, his Italian background? The happy marriage, finding the love poem, Eliza’s doubts? Confiding them to her mother? The family going along for the ride to find out the truth? Credible – or as a sufficient basis for the comic behaviour?

5.Eliza, quiet, her relationship with her mother? The domineering mother, along the road, the spell on everybody, her exasperation, her making everybody exasperated? The contrast with her husband, the quiet genial type? The sister, Jo, going along for the ride, supporting her sister? Bringing her boyfriend Carl?

6.The adventures in the car, the interactions with each other, the revelation of character and idiosyncrasies? Jo and her love for Carl? Carl and his writing a novel, a Doctor Seuss for adults? The reaction of the parents to their children, the potential son-in-law?

7.The encounters along the way? The range of New Yorkers? Idiosyncratic? Discussions, humorous situations? The meeting with Eddie, a man about town?

8.Louis himself, not having much screen time, his dealings with Cassandra? The resolution of the problem, the truth about Louis? Reconciliation?

9.The action taking place within a day, the writer-director’s ability to bring out characters in humorous and sometimes absurd situations? An insightful film about human nature?