Review of Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005) by Jon F — 03 May 2011

"Say, "You poop into my butt hole and I poop into your butt hole... back and forth... forever.".

A lonely shoe salesman and an eccentric performance artist struggle to connect in this unique take on contemporary life.

REVIEW.

A remarkable first film for the incredibly gifted and talented July, who wrote, directed and co-stars in this winning comedy/drama character study with eccentric bumps and grinds - just like life! - with an admirable quirky sense of mischief and surprisingly poignant knack for the soulful. Hawkes - in an equally amazing performance of quiet, implosive substance - stars as a recently separated family man and shoe salesman who attempts to adjust somewhat reluctantly to the jarring effects of his life in transition and to desperately bond with his seemingly indifferent eldest son Thompson (very good as well) and the adorably precocious and alarmingly sweet and natural Ratcliff, his youngest. In the midst he meets up with July's slightly askew yet also desiring to be loved artist-wannabe who does her best to get by with the daily drudgeries and pitfalls with a smile, upbeat persona and self-confidence thisclose to coming to a halt and perhaps a breakdown despite her efforts. July has restored my faith in independent film-making and in general film going - one of the best films I have seen this year and in her gracefully off-beat touchstones to the human spirit and is a joy to watch this instant perfect gem unspool. Her somewhat unorthodox/semi-improvised stylings, clever visuals (her pas de deus with a video camera and her shoes echo Charlie Chaplin's dinner roll dance in The Gold Rush!) and awe-inspiring handle with her actors is a triumph in not being too pleased with the proceedings and lets them just be. Also noteworthy is her other child actress, Westerman - resembling a Cherry Jones Mini-Me - with her years beyond her demeanor and assured tone of self-discipline and domestic docility is one of the funniest/saddest things I've ever seen committed to celluloid. The true stunner is the pre-adolescent Ratcliff with his innocent angel face as he has one of cinema's most unlikely meet-cutes of all time in a computer sex-chat lounge that results in one of the most heartbreakingly sweet encounters between a couple that could've been (trust me this is worth the price of admission alone!) It will have you laughing out loud at the absurdity while the occasional jaw-drop of stony silence at the sudden lump-in-the-throat-en-rush of tears. I eagerly await July's next foray.