''By Hook or by Crook'' is a 2001

buddy Buddy may refer to: People *Buddy (nickname) *Buddy (rapper), real name Simmie Sims III (1993–Present) *Buddy Rogers (wrestler), ring name of American professional wrestler Herman Gustav Rohde, Jr. (1921–1992) *Buddy Boeheim (born 1999), Amer ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

film written, directed by, and starring Harry Dodge and

Silas Howard Silas Howard is an American director, writer, and actor. His first feature film was ''By Hook or by Crook'' in 2001 with Harry Dodge, and he earned an MFA in directing at UCLA. He began directing episodes during the second season of '' Transparen ...

. The story follows two unlikely friends as they commit petty crimes and figure out their places in the world. The film premiered at the 2001

Frameline Film Festival The Frameline Film Festival (aka San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival) (formerly San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival; San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival) began as a storefront event in 1976. The first ...

and went on to screen at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. It won multiple awards on the film festival circuit, including the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2002

SXSW Film Festival South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, T ...

Plot

Shy, a

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

man, leaves his small town in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

for

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

after the death of his father. Along the way, he encounters Valentine, a quirky adoptee in search of his birth mother. An immediate kinship is sparked between the two men and they become partners in crime with Val’s lover Billie to stay financially afloat. The duo faces money troubles, emotional problems, and physical confrontations as they learn to trust and support each other in pursuit of their goals.

Cast

as Shy * Harry Dodge as Valentine (as Harriet Dodge) *

Stanya Kahn Stanya Kahn (born 1968) is an American artist. She graduated magna cum laude from San Francisco State University and received an MFA in 2003 from the Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College. Kahn lives and works in Los Angeles, ...

as Billie *Carina Gia as Isabelle *James Cotner as Attacker *

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...

as News interviewee *Kris Kovic as Crazy nut in park *Maia Lorian as Parisol girl *Tina Marie Murray as Ms. Red *Aldo Pisano as Driver *Nancy Stone as Waitress

Production

The film is the directorial debut of both Howard and Dodge and was shot on mini DV.

Carla Bozulich Carla Ragin Bozulich (born December 24, 1965) is an American musician based in Los Angeles, known as the lead singer, lyricist and founder of The Geraldine Fibbers and Evangelista as well as a founding member of Ethyl Meatplow and Scarnella. The ...

of the

Geraldine Fibbers The Geraldine Fibbers were an alt-country band founded in 1994 by Carla Bozulich. Initially, band members included Bozulich, Daniel Keenan, Julie Fowells, William Tutton and Kevin Fitzgerald.Strong, Martin C.:"The Great Alternative & Indie Discog ...

wrote the score for the film. The soundtrack also features a song that Carla Bozulich co-wrote with the Geraldine Fibbers, "Lilybelle", that was later covered by

Kiki and Herb Kiki and Herb (Justin Bond and Kenny Mellman) are an American drag cabaret duo. Bond portrays Kiki DuRane, an aging, alcoholic, female lounge singer. Mellman portrays her gay, male piano accompanist, known only as "Herb." Despite Bond and Mellm ...

Release

The film had its world premiere at the

in San Francisco on June 17, 2001. In addition, it screened at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. It was given a limited theatrical release on October 25, 2002.

Reception

On review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, ''By Hook or by Crook'' has an approval rating of 64% based on 14 reviews. Dave Kehr of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' wrote the film "is, like its principal characters, a bit messy and maladroit but not without a certain charm", and "the humanity of the characters shines through, giving face and form to a subculture the movies have largely neglected". ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

'' described the film as "An appealing, if decidedly unconventional, buddy picture that seems to channel ''

Midnight Cowboy ''Midnight Cowboy'' is a 1969 American drama film, based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The film was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with notable smaller ...

'' (1969) while going its own quirky way."

Awards

*2001 LA

Outfest Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival ...

: Audience Award: Outstanding Narrative Feature, Harriet Dodge and Grand Jury Award: Outstanding Screenwriting, Silace Howard and Harriet Dodge *2001

Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival Seattle Queer Film Festival (formerly known as the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival) is an annual film festival in Seattle. The 25th Annual Seattle Queer Film Festival will take place October 14–24, 2021. It is the largest LGBTQ film festival ...

, Award for Excellence: Best Female Director, Silace Howard and Harriet Dodge, and Award for Excellence: Best Narrative Feature, Silace Howard and Harriet Dodge *2002 Paris Lesbian Film Festival, Winner of Audience Award: Best Film, Silas Howard and Harriet Dodge *2002

Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival Philadelphia QFest was founded in Philadelphia as the Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Film Festival by TLA Entertainment Group in 1995. It was given its current name, QFest, in 2009. One of the festival's founders and current Artistic Director, Raymon ...

Jury Prize: Best Feature - Lesbian, Silace Howard and Harriet Dodge *2002

: Audience Award: Narrative Feature, Silace Howard and Harriet Dodge

References

External links

Official website
* * * * {{Silas Howard 2001 films 2001 crime drama films 2001 LGBT-related films 2001 romantic drama films 2001 independent films American buddy drama films American crime drama films American drama road movies American LGBT-related films American romantic drama films LGBT-related buddy drama films Transgender-related films Films about adoption Films about hitchhiking Films about trans men Films about violence against LGBT people 2000s drama road movies 2000s English-language films 2000s American films