Star Picks Roswell for Movie Premiere

publication date: Jul 3, 2008

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author/source: John Breech / STAFF

By John Breech / STAFF

It’s not everyday that North Fulton gets to play host to a Hollywood premiere. However that was exactly the case last Friday when the independent film “A Plumm Summer” opened at Startime Theater. Startime, the only theater in the eastern United States that will be showing the movie, was chosen as the premiere venue because one of the movie’s stars, former Alpharetta resident Lisa Guerrero, was familiar with the management there.

Guerrero, who also served as one of the movie’s executive producers, was thrilled that the movie was playing in Roswell.

“We had a premiere in four cities – Birmingham, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Roswell,” she said. “We did L.A. because it’s L.A. and we did Minneapolis because it was easy to market around Scott (Lisa’s husband, former Major League pitcher Scott Erickson, won a world series while playing in Minnesota). Atlanta was my doing. With the roots I have here, Atlanta was an easy choice.” Guerrero was a cheerleader and the entertainment director for the Falcons from 1989-1991.

The movie itself features quite a stellar cast. Starring alongside Guerrero in the film are William Baldwin and the Fonz, Henry Winkler, while Jeff Daniels provides the narration. Guerrero had nothing but good things to say about her co-stars.

“You hear about the Baldwins a lot, and most of it’s not good, but William was so professional,” Guerrero gushed. “The first day on set he met with Chris (co-star Chris J. Kelly, who played the son of Baldwin and Guerrero) and they began to develop their father-son relationship.”

As for the film itself, the former Monday Night Football sideline reporter thinks it has something for everyone. “It’s something that everyone can enjoy. Obviously the main story is kid-friendly,” explained Guerrero just before the film began. “But there’s a deeper part of the story that will appeal to adults also.”

Guerrero also added that if everything goes as planned, A Plumm Summer would be available on DVD come September.

A Plumm Good Time
For the better part of my 26 years, I’ve always had one recurring fantasy; to be in a dark movie theater with Lisa Guerrero. Well, now there’s one less thing on my bucket list because that’s exactly what happened last week when I attended the press screening for “A Plumm Summer.”

The movie, narrated by Jeff Daniels and based on a true story, revolves around a marionette named Froggy Doo. The wooden frog, who looks like he might have been part of a Howdy Dudey-Kermit the Frog breeding experiment that went horribly right, is a beloved children’s TV character that rules the airwaves in a rural Montana town.

During a live show at a local park, children are stunned to learn that Froggy Doo has been frog-napped. The frog-napping breaks the heart of Froggy Doo’s biggest fan, five-year-old Rocky Plumm (played by Owen Pearce, who is undoubtedly the most adorable child to grace a movie screen since Jonathan Lipnicki in Jerry Maguire). Concerned that the police aren’t doing enough to find the green children’s hero, Rocky and his older brother Elliot make it their summer’s goal to track down the devious mastermind that nabbed poor Froggy Doo. On top of solving the crime, the Plumm boys also have to contend with their boxing obsessed alcoholic father (Baldwin) and their mother (Guerrero) who means well, but is worn from all the time she spends dealing with her alcoholic husband. And I don’t know if it’s just me, but I always get the feeling that whenever a casting director needs someone to play an alcoholic in a film, the first phone call goes to the Baldwin household.

Anyway, the boys recruit their new neighbor, Elliot’s crush Haley (Morgan Flynn), to help them find the missing amphibian. For the three junior detectives, finding the frog is only half the fun. The trio also has to outsmart a local bully, outfox a couple of FBI agents and cheer up Froggy Doo’s distraught owner Happy Herb. Mr. Cool himself, Henry Winkler, plays Froggy Doo’s owner and his performance is one of the highlights of the movie. You also might recognize Happy Herb’s wife Viv, who is played by Brenda Strong. Strong shot to fame playing Sue Ellen Mischke (the lady that won’t wear a bra) on “Seinfeld” and she’s also the narrator on Desperate Housewives.

The boys’ epic adventure around Montana really gave director Caroline Zelder a chance to show off all of the fantastic scenery that the state offers. If nothing else, the film is a 100-minute commercial for the Big Sky state. The Montana visitor’s bureau should definitely be thinking about cutting the producers a check.

“Plumm” has the feeling of the 1993 comedy “The Sandlot.” As in, it’s an old-fashioned movie that is propped up by storytelling, not special effects. This film isn’t going to win an Academy Award (although it has won it’s fair share of awards), but if you want a to spend a fun weekend with the family, “A Plumm Summer” is definitely worth checking out. And make sure you stay in your seat until the credits are done rolling, because you don’t want to miss the end. Three Stars (out of four).