The wonderful thing about the movie Dorfman in Love, playing at the NoHo 7 theater on Lankershim Boulevard, is that it is an extremely well acted story with quite a few unusual twists.
The movie centers around Debbie Dorfman, an average looking and yet somewhat attractive young woman who is living with her widowed father in the San Fernando Valley. She is everyone’s buddy, fixer and multi-tasker. But the question quickly becomes can she fix herself and how will that ever happen? Miss Dorfman is skillfully played by television star Sara Rue, who will be instantly recognized as the perky, off beat star of ‘Less Than Perfect ‘over ten years ago.
In the beginning we are quickly introduced to Deb, as she likes to be called, when we see her trying to coax her very sad father, played by Elliott Gould, to eat breakfast. She is gentle, kind, and secretly reads romance novels in between working for her self absorbed brother. She yearns for that magical love moment and the object of her affection is her brother’s best friend Jay, handsomely portrayed by Johann Urb. Deb is very accepting of her tightly organized life serving others as the nice one; the always accommodating one. Some may think she is naive. However, she is just being the thoughtful one surrounded by a group of family members that are tightly wound. When will Dorfman find love? Will it happen within the week of house sitting for Jay in his unfinished downtown loft? The answer is far below the surface of her wise cracks and half smiles. Maybe taking a chance along the path of self discovery will become the right choice.The audience knows that romance will eventrully happen but it is not the end of this journey that makes this film so enticing to watch. It is the road taken. Deb may not have all the answers but we know she will get there.
Good actors don’t take these roles because it will make them stars. They take these roles because they want to act with a cast that is well matched under good direction and very good writing. In fact, these characters are so well matched that it seems they could all be related in real life. Smile at the wonderful performances of Sara Rue, Elliott Gould, and Jonathan Chase as the brother. Pay special attention to the artist neighbor Haaz Sleiman. A subtle and memorable performance. Pay also attention to the wonderful backdrop of the often misunderstood and misaligned City of Los Angeles. As scenes weave in and out of freeways, urban street life with cool downtown vibes, the flavor of this city becomes clearer. Finally, a story that embraces this town instead of pushing us all away.
Dorfman in Love is playing locally at the NoHo 7 on Lankershim Blvd and around town.The director is Brad Leong and the writer is Wendy Kout. Everyone should see this movie at least once. The rating scale is a strong A-1.
(A-1=see it, A-1+=definitely see it, A-1++, do not miss it.)