''The Sky Is Falling'' is a 2000 American film written and directed by Florrie Laurence and produced by Brad Hall and David Parks. It stars

Dedee Pfeiffer Dorothy Diane "Dedee" Pfeiffer (born January 1, 1964) is an American actress, the younger sister of Michelle Pfeiffer. She began her career appearing in films include '' Vamp'' (1986), '' The Allnighter'' (1987) and '' The Horror Show'' (1989). ...

Teri Garr Teri Ann Garr (born December 11, 1944) is an American former actress, dancer, and comedian. She frequently appeared in comedic roles throughout her career, which spans four decades and includes over 140 credits in film and television. Her accola ...

, Howard Hesseman, and

Eric Close Eric Randolph Close (born May 24, 1967) is an American actor, best known for his roles in television series, particularly as FBI agent Martin Fitzgerald in the CBS mystery drama ''Without a Trace'' (2002–2009) and Teddy Conrad in the ABC ...

Plot

28-year-old Emily Hall (

) is a bright and talented - but frustrated - novelist whose book constantly gets rejected by publishers. Her life goes into a tailspin when her boyfriend, Mike (

), breaks up with her; her best friend, Amber (

Laura Leighton Laura Diane Leighton is an American actress. She played Sydney Andrews on the television series '' Melrose Place'' (1993–1997) and its continuation (2009–2010), and Ashley Marin on Freeform's series ''Pretty Little Liars'' (2010–2017). ...

), suddenly packs up and moves to Mexico; and her psychic mother, Mona (

), surprises her with the overwhelming news that her supposedly dead father is really an errant hippie photographer named Yogi ( Howard Hesseman), who has just arrived in town and wants to meet her. Unable to get a decent job, surrounded by the success of her friends and further depressed by the approach of her 10-year high school reunion, Emily must confront the reality that she has fallen far short of the lofty goals to which she originally aspired. Her world continues in its downward spiral as she finds herself crossing paths with an ever-increasing variety of unusually eccentric people ranging from a chain-smoking Santa Claus ( Chris Elliott) to an obnoxious literary agent (

Sean Astin Sean Patrick Astin (né Duke; February 25, 1971) is an American actor. His acting roles include Samwise Gamgee in ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003), Mikey Walsh in ''The Goonies'' (1985), Daniel Ruettiger in '' Rudy'' (1993), Dou ...

). Faced with the problem-laden reality of her unsuccessful life, Emily lets her imagination take her down the road of wacky and ineffectual ways to kill herself. But, before she can find an acceptable form of suicide, (no pain, no gore, no guts allowed), Emily finds herself thrown into a volunteer job at a local hospital where, with her faithful dog Sam, she visits sick and terminally ill patients. One such patient, the ever-negative Mr. Finch ( Bert Remsen), seems to dislike Emily and Sam's constant intrusions into his solitary life, but with time and devotion Emily helps Mr. Finch to see the beauty and value in the world around him. Their new-found relationship proves to be the turning point for Emily, and, with Mr. Finch's help and support, Emily's faith in her own talent is restored.

Cast

as Emily Hall *

as Mona Hall * Howard Hesseman as Yogi Cook *

as Mike *

as Amber Lee *

as Mr. Schwartz * Chris Elliott as Santa Claus * Bert Remsen as Mr. Finch

Production

''The Sky Is Falling'' was filmed on location in multiple areas of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1997. It was produced at an estimated cost of $500,000, and was the first film for writer/director Florrie Laurence.

Reception

The film was well-reviewed and premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in 1999. ''Variety'' called the film "Intermittently engaging but suffering from a schematic, repetitive structure."

References

External links

* *
SXSW Review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sky Is Falling, The 2000 films 2000s English-language films American comedy-drama films 2000s American films