Slam

Author: Evan (NY)

“Slam”

Director: Danny Boyle

Adapted By: Nick Hornby and Danny Boyle

Cast:

Sam – Cameron Bright

Marilyn – Sally Hawkins

Alicia – Lauren McKinney

Andrea – Emma Thompson

Rob – Gary Lewis

Tagline: “Things were ticking along quite nicely…”

Synopsis:

Hey, I’m Sam. I live in London, England. I have a mother named Marilyn whois 32 years old. She describes herself as being as old as Cameron Diaz,and in between Jennifer Aniston and Kate Hudson. I am 15. Do the math. Sheand my immature father (who I don’t much fancy) conceived me on the hoodof a camry in high school. She always tells me that it ruined her life.I like to skate. Not ice skate, I hate it when people see me in theirminds gliding around on ice. Skating equals skateboarding. Tony Hawk, or‘TH’ is my favorite professional skater. Not only is Hawk the world'sbestskater, he's also great to talk to. So I talk to Tony Hawk (a poster ofhim on my wall), and Tony Hawk talks back, quoting from his biography. Ihave read it about 40 times, and memorized it. I talk to him becausenobody else really cares. Because just when it seemed like everything hadcome together for me, I had to go and screw it all up. It only took fiveseconds. But all of me knew.

I met Alicia through my mother, and we hit it off quite nicely. She wasspunky, smart (if not as intelligent as myself), and wanted to be a model.Not that her parents knew, of course. They thought she would become aprofessor like her dad, or a politician like her mum. I don’t know why Idid it, but when we had sex, something happened. A month later, after wehad sort broken up, unofficially, she told me she was three weeks late.This put me in quite the predicament, and when we finally told her mum anddad, and my mum, all hell broke loose. My mother asked me if I had learnedanything from the way her life had turned out, and Alicia’s parents wereconvinced that I had forced her into it. If anything, she was the one whowanted to have sex with me. That was when I decided never to have sexagain. I talked to Tony that night, and when I fell asleep, I think hewhisked me off into the future.

In the future, my mum had another baby daughter, and I was living atAlicia’s house, helping her take care of a baby boy everyone called Roof,who I guess was mine. The events in this dream started happening, and Ilet them. But when they did happen, I knew how to change a diaper, and howwhat my kids name was. It was almost like I got the practice before, andnow I knew how to do everything.Four months after Roof (or Rufus) was born, my mother had a baby girlnamed Betsy. So now we have Roof, who is 16 years younger than his mother,my mother who is a 34 year old Grandmother, and a 2-hour old girl who is 4months younger than her nephew. But where do I fit in? TH couldn’t tellme, sometimes he only talks about his own life. But I’ll figure it out.

What The Press Would Say:

Danny Boyle, who worked wonders portraying a child’s mind in “Millions” has returned to top form for “Slam.” Adapted from Nick Hornby’s poignant, witty, and dark novel of the same name, “Slam” is the story of a 15year-old who gets his ex-girlfriend pregnant. Offering wry insight into the psyche of an adolescent male, “Slam” is a heart wrenching, hilarious tale of a normal boy who makes one mistake that shapes his life. Cameron Bright, best known for his small roles in “Running Scared” and “Thank YouFor Smoking” is hilarious as the imperfectly perfect Sam, a train wreckwaiting to happen. We all learn to care about him, and want to hear hisentire story, no matter how painful. Both Hornby’s writing of the impeccable script and Boyle’s direction show the truly witty, satirical aspect of this story. Sally Hawkins plays the mother of Sam, and she is truly hilarious. She sees the irony in the situation her son has caused, and how similar it is to her mistakes. This gives Hawkins a meaty role, where she has to comfort her son, but also prove to him that it won’t ruin his life, even though it is arguable that her having a son as a teenagerruined hers. “Slam” is a moving tale about a boy not yet a man strugglingwith grown male problems. It should not be missed, as it is by turns funnyand heartbreaking, and one of the most interesting films of the year.

FYC:

Best Picture

Best Director – Danny Boyle

Best Actor – Cameron Bright

Best Actress – Sally Hawkins

Best Supporting Actress – Lauren McKinney

Best Adapted Screenplay