''Spare Me'' is a 1992 film directed by Matthew Harrison and starring Lawton Paseka and

Christie MacFadyen Christie MacFadyen is a Canadian actress best known for appearing in the film ''The Top of His Head''.Marc Horton, "Mystery-love story makes for obscure but rewarding film". ''Edmonton Journal'', May 11, 1990. Selected filmography * ''The Top of ...

. Harrison's feature film directorial debut, the 16mm feature was made for less than $80,000 US and won awards at the Rome Film Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, Long Island Film Festival and others. Harrison used the cash award from a prize at the Avignon Film Festival to make his second feature, the

Sundance A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony. Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to: Places ;Canada *Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood *Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town ;United States * Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated place ...

Jury Prize winning ''

Rhythm Thief ''Rhythm Thief'' is a 1994 independent drama film directed by Matthew Harrison. The standard 16mm black-and-white feature was made for US$11,000 and was awarded a Special Jury Recognition for Directing at the Sundance Film Festival. It was g ...

''.

Plot

This film is the story of Theo (Lawton Paseka), the "Bad Boy of Bowling", suspended from the pro-tour for bashing an opponent in the head on national TV. Desperate to circumvent the 100-year suspension and get back into the game, Theo seeks out his estranged father Buzz, a man of legendary power in the bowling world - a man he has never met. But Buzz has turned to the dark side of the sport and runs an illegal dwarf bowling operation with his nefarious partner Miles Kastle. "And nobody sticks a finger into a bowling ball in this town without Miles Kastle knowing about it." Kastle's pyromaniac daughter Sheila (

) has the hots for Theo. Her psychotic brother Junior has just broken out of a mental institution and wants to murder Buzz. Kastle offers to get Theo back in the pins - for a price, and Theo finds himself faced with one of the impossible 7-10 splits of life.

Cast

*Lawton Paseka as Theo Skinner *

as Sheila Kastle *Mark Alfred as Buzz Fazeli *Sunny Weil as Millie Fazeli *Richard W. Sears Jr. as Miles Kastle *Bill Christ as Junior *Christopher Cooke as Sid *Sean Hagerty as Breeze

Festivals and critical reception

Candice Russell, writing for the Sun-Sentinel at the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival, called ''Spare Me'' “a warped version of '' Rebel Without a Cause''.” At the XXXVI Mostra Internazionale Del Film D’Autore San Remo in Italy, film critic David Rooney, writing for '' Variety'', made note of the film's "reckless energy and charismatic leads." and Fausto Serra wrote " he filmmarks a great starting point for the future of its author." Todd Anthony, reviewing the picture for the ''

Miami New Times The ''Miami New Times'' is a newspaper published in Miami, Florida, United States, and distributed every Thursday. It primarily serves the Miami area and is headquartered in Miami's Wynwood Art District. Overview It was acquired by Village Voic ...

'' at the South Beach Film Festival, highlighted ''Spare Me'' as a "flat-out winner." ''

Film Threat ''Film Threat'' is an online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. It first ...

'' labeled the film “The quintessential saga of a rebel and his ball.""Spare Me", ''

'', April 15, 1994 The film was also programmed at festivals both in the US and overseas including

Boston Film Festival Boston Film Festival (BFF) is an annual film festival held in Boston in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It has been held annually since 1984, usually in early September. The Boston Film Festival premiered such notable films as '' The Last Kiss'' ...

, Central Florida Film Festival, ExGround Festival, Florida Film Festival,

Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 Unit ...

, Hamptons International Film Festival, Long Island Film Festival, Filmfest Oldenburg,

São Paulo International Film Festival The São Paulo International Film Festival ( pt, Mostra Internacional de Cinema de São Paulo), also known internationally as Mostra, is an annual film festival held in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. A non-profit event, the festival is organized ...

Festroia International Film Festival The Tróia International Film Festival, commonly referred to as Festroia ( pt, Festival Internacional de Cinema de Tróia – Festróia) was an annual international film festival in Portugal held from 1985 to 2014. Held in the town of Setúbal and ...

, Welsh Film Festival, and Women in Film Festival, Los Angeles. ''Spare Me'' was screened at

Anthology Film Archives Anthology Film Archives is an international center for the preservation, study, and exhibition of film and video, with a particular focus on independent, experimental, and avant-garde cinema.Cinémathèque Française, Coolidge Corner Theatre,

Deutsche Kinemathek Die Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen is a major German film archive located in Berlin. History The Deutsche Kinemathek opened in 1963. Until the opening of a permanent display in the Museum of Film and Television Berlin (Mu ...

Harvard Film Archive The Harvard Film Archive (HFA) is a film archive and cinema located in the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dedicated to the collection, preservation and exhibition of film, the HFA houses a c ...

, Hirshhorn Museum, IFP Market,

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

Kino Arsenal The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

at the in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Millennium Film Workshop,

Pacific Film Archive The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA, formerly abbreviated as BAM/PFA) are a combined art museum, repertory movie theater, and archive associated with the University of California, Berkeley. Lawrence Rinder was Director from ...

, Projected Images of Hudson County, Putnam Screening Room and the Shooting Gallery in New York City. The film was licensed on video in the US and overseas.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 108200, Spare Me American independent films American drama films 1994 comedy films Films about dysfunctional families 1994 films 1994 directorial debut films Films shot in 16 mm film 1990s English-language films 1990s American films