Doonby (2013)

I admired all the characters in this movie. Love the music and the path of a moment in life.After reading all the comments I see no one hit the mark. If we could only get away from all this nonsense that means so little we would get the point of the movie.That point is simple. THINK of where we as humans are and figure out how to make it better.

*** This review may contain spoilers for 'It's A Wonderful Life' as well as for 'Doonby' *** In 'It's A Wonderful Life' the lesson George Bailey learns is 'every life is worth living'. In 'Doonby' the lesson is 'even 'unwanted' children will grow up to save lives and become talented, successful musicians'. In 'It's A Wonderful Life' we see the support of the loving family George Bailey grew up in, and can easily understand how he came to be the man he is. In 'Doonby' they never show how he went from being abandoned at an orphanage by his mother at a very young age, to being the totally well-adjusted adult he becomes.In 'It's A Wonderful Life' an Angel uses magic to show George Bailey what Bedford Falls would have been without him. In Bedford Falls with George Bailey in it, everyone knows him, and in the Bedford Falls without George Bailey, no one knows him. But when Doonby exists, he is unable to shake the hand of Laura's father – how can Doonby exist and at the same time hate Laura's father for aborting him? Not only is the magic hidden until the very end, but the world with Doonby and the world without Doonby seem to have been blended together without explanation. It is like a paradoxical and half-finished script for a 'Twilight Zone' episode.Small wonder I did not see that coming. Who would have guessed the lesson would be so absurd – much less that it would not be directed at any of the characters but at the audience instead. Nothing that happens in the movie is even known to any of the characters except Laura. Laura is the only one who learns the lesson, and she is not pregnant. So the entire story was not about the characters, but about what the film makers want the audience to learn – a clumsy, manipulative, and incoherent breaking the fourth wall.If 'It's A Wonderful Life' and 'The Twilight Zone' had a baby, 'Doonby' would be it. And this baby should never have been born.

This movie is one that has an encouraging message about the value of life very much like Its a Wonderful Life. It will make you think and want to talk about it with someone immediately after.It has been a while since I have seen a good movie with a Sixth Sense type revelation at the end.Though it is rated PG 13 it is a clean film. Here is the content in case you are wonderingLanguage: no four letter words.Violence: there is a gunman who tries to hold up a bar for $ there are a few wild shots fired, punches thrown, bottles thrown, very little blood. Later there is an attempted murder and characters respond aggressively in self defense. Sexuality: a character tries (unsuccessfully) to seduce another (implied nudity). Man in a towel after a shower. Themes: Accusation of attempted rape. Alcoholism and heavy drinking. Mysterious Stalker presence implied throughout the first two acts.In my opinion all edgy/questionable content is not glorified, instead it is contrasted against the positive choices made by the upstanding lead character who displays good morals and decision making.I recommend it.

I'd seen just about every movie that was currently running and my choice was between Doonby and Wanderlust. I'd heard nothing about Doonby and didn't find much on-line, so I went with Jennifer Aniston. Can't lose, right? Well, what a mistake. Fortunately, I got another chance to go to the movies and finally did see Doonby. Wow! I was pleasantly surprised how quickly the story grabbed me. The characters were interesting and obviously something was going on beneath the surface that kept me wide awake anxious to find out what it was.I go to just about every movie that comes out, and I was, frankly, expecting the worst since I'd heard nothing about this movie anywhere. But the cinematography was excellent, the acting first-rate (well, a few of the actors were a little amateurish but you'd expect that in a low budget film), and the script ingenious. I left the movie feeling emotionally charged and excited---definitely a movie that is well worth seeing.