''Lymelife'' is a 2008 American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film written by brothers

Derick Martini Derick Martini is an American screenwriter and film director and an owner of commercial property and advertising billboards located in New York City. Film and television Martini's feature film writing credits include the coming of age story ...

and Steven Martini, and directed by Derick Martini, depicting aspects of their life in 1970s

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

from a teenager's perspective. It stars

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nichol ...

Rory Culkin Rory Hugh Culkin (born July 21, 1989) is an American actor who is known for his roles in ''Scream 4'', ''Lords of Chaos (film), Lords of Chaos'', ''You Can Count on Me'', ''Columbus (2017 film), Columbus'', and M. Night Shyamalan's ''Signs (2002 ...

Kieran Culkin Kieran Kyle Culkin (born September 30, 1982) is an American actor. The brother of actors Macaulay and Rory, he began his career as a child actor in the films ''Home Alone'' (1990), ''Father of the Bride'' (1991)'', The Mighty'' (1998), and ''Th ...

and

Emma Roberts Emma Rose Roberts (born February 10, 1991 Additional on October 9, 2016) is an American actress. Known for her work in film and television projects of the horror film, horror and thriller (genre), thriller genres, she has received List of awar ...

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...

served as an

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

. The film debuted at the

2008 Toronto International Film Festival 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of the ...

in September 2008, and won the

International Federation of Film Critics The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

Award (

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

). After its theatrical release in 2009, writer director Derick Martini was nominated for a

Gotham Award The Gotham Awards () are American film awards, presented annually to the makers of independent films at a ceremony in New York City, the city first nicknamed "Gotham" by native son Washington Irving, in an issue of ''Salmagundi'', published on ...

for Breakthrough Director.

Plot

Set in 1979

Syosset Syosset (also known as Little East Woods or Locust Grove) is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place in the Oyster Bay (town), New York, Town of Oyster Bay, in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long Islan ...

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...

, ''Lymelife'' follows two families, the Bartletts and the Braggs, who crumble when tangled relationships, real-estate problems, and

Lyme disease Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is a vector-borne disease caused by the ''Borrelia'' bacterium, which is spread by ticks in the genus ''Ixodes''. The most common sign of infection is an expanding red rash, known as erythema migran ...

converge in the heart of

suburbia A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

. 15-year-old Scott Bartlett is a gentle boy, radically different from his blustery father Mickey and mother Brenda. An outbreak of Lyme disease, as well as the accompanying paranoia, hits their community hard. When the Bartlett's neighbor, Charlie Bragg, is diagnosed with the illness, Charlie is unable to work and his wife Melissa must keep the income flowing herself. She is hired by Mickey, a friendly favor motivated by lust. Mickey's history of philandering is one of the many things upsetting Brenda. Scott has been in love with the Braggs' one year-older daughter Adrianna for all his life; she is starting to return his interest. Charlie spends days hiding in his basement, while his wife believes he is in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

on job interviews. He is obsessed with hunting deer. Scott and Charlie have a good relationship, one of the only ones Charlie is able to maintain throughout his illness. Things heat up when Jimmy, Scott's older brother, comes home from the army on their mom's birthday. Brenda leaves early from Jimmy's going-away party when it is clear that there is a relationship between Mickey and Melissa. Jimmy and Mickey have a confrontation. Scott learns of the affair and confronts his mother. Adrianna helps him through this, but shuns him after a rumor spread from a lie he tells a friend. Brenda kicks Mickey out of the house and is once again able to act the role of an effective parent. Charlie also confronts Mickey after he inadvertently witnesses the affair; when his wife finds out that he has been letting her earn the family's keep, she packs to leave. Scott and Adrianna reconnect and lose their virginity to each other. Brenda lets Mickey spend the night at their house but on the couch.

Cast

as Scott Bartlett *

as Mickey Bartlett *

as Adrianna Bragg *

Jill Hennessy Jillian Noel Hennessy (born November 25, 1968) is a Canadian actress and singer. She is most known for her roles on the American television series ''Law & Order'', on which she played prosecutor Claire Kincaid for three seasons, and ''Crossing ...

as Brenda Bartlett *

as Jimmy Bartlett *

Timothy Hutton Timothy Tarquin Hutton (born August 16, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is the youngest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at age 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in ''Ordinary People ...

as Charlie Bragg *

Cynthia Nixon Cynthia Ellen Nixon (born April 9, 1966) is an American actress, activist, and theater director. For her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), she won the 2004 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supp ...

as Melissa Bragg *

Logan Huffman Logan Huffman (born December 22, 1989) is an American actor. He appeared in the 2009 TV series '' V'' and starred in the 2013 film ''Bad Turn Worse''. Personal life Huffman was born in Noblesville, Indiana, where he was the first born of tripl ...

as Blaze Salado * Brandon Thane Wilson as Stuart * Adam Scarimbolo as Todd O'Leary *

as Photographer (uncredited) * Steven Martini as Taxi driver (uncredited) * Matthew Martini as Jimmy's friend (uncredited)

Production

The film had a budget of $1.5 million. Portions of the film were shot at Montclair High School in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair () is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. As ...

Release

The film began its North American theatrical release in April 2009. Initially, ''Lymelife'' was only shown on screens in New York and Los Angeles but eventually expanded to 35 screens. The film grossed $421,307 in the United States and an additional $104,938 internationally for a total worldwide gross of $526,245.

Reception

The film premiered at the

and won the

award (

). The film received a 63% approval rating on

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 ...

based on 109 reviews; the average rating is 6.1/10. The consensus states: "''Lymelife'' features sharp performances, but the story lacks the emotional depth or focus worthy of its talented cast."

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lymelife 2008 films 2000s coming-of-age comedy-drama films 2008 independent films 2000s teen comedy-drama films Adultery in films Films directed by Derick Martini American coming-of-age comedy-drama films American independent films American teen comedy-drama films 2000s English-language films Films about infectious diseases Films about dysfunctional families Films set in 1979 Films set in Long Island Films set in New York (state) Films shot in New Jersey 2000s American films