How to Make the Cruelest Month
Encyclopedia
How to Make the Cruelest Month is a 1998 comedy film written and directed by Kip Koenig
and starring Clea DuVall
.
, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. It won the Best of Fest prize at the 1998 Long Island Film Festival.
Writing for Variety
, Emanuel Levy
gave the film a mixed review. He praised the director's ideas and characters, as well as his sensitivity to the issues faced by young Americans. He drew comparisons between the film and Woody Allen
's early films ("in spirit and ambition, if not in execution"). He enjoyed DuVall's performance, although said it was "occasionally too intensely mannered", and praised the rest of the cast. However, Levy also described the film as uneven, with a "messy structure and lack of discipline".
Kip Koenig
Kip Koenig is an American film and television producer and screenwriter.Koenig's most notable work has been on medical drama Grey's Anatomy, for which he has served as supervising producer and consulting producer for dozens of episodes, and has written an additional three episodes...
and starring Clea DuVall
Clea DuVall
Clea Helen D'Etienne DuVall is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Sofie on the television series Carnivàle as well as for films such as The Faculty , Girl, Interrupted and The Grudge .-Early life:DuVall was born in Los Angeles, California, the only child of Rosemary and...
.
Cast
- Clea DuVallClea DuVallClea Helen D'Etienne DuVall is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Sofie on the television series Carnivàle as well as for films such as The Faculty , Girl, Interrupted and The Grudge .-Early life:DuVall was born in Los Angeles, California, the only child of Rosemary and...
as Bell Bryant - Gabriel MannGabriel Mann (actor)Gabriel Mann is an American actor and former fashion model, currently starring as Nolan Ross on the ABC drama series Revenge.-Life and career:...
as Leonard Crane - J.D. Souther as Uncle Jerry
- Mary Kay PlaceMary Kay PlaceMary Kay Place is an American actress, singer, director and screen writer. She is best known as portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, a role which won her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series in 1977...
as Mary Bryant - Marianne Jean-BaptisteMarianne Jean-BaptisteMarianne Raigipcien Jean-Baptiste is a British actress and singer of Antiguan and St. Lucian heritage.-Early life:...
as Christina Parks - Dennis HaysbertDennis HaysbertDennis Dexter Haysbert is an American film and television actor. He is known for portraying baseball player Pedro Cerrano in the Major League film trilogy, President David Palmer on the American television series 24, and Sergeant Major Jonas Blane on the drama series The Unit, as well as his work...
as Manhattan Parks - John Voskamp as Fryer Crane
- Amy SmartAmy SmartAmy Lysle Smart is an American television and film actress and former fashion model.-Early life:Smart was born in Topanga, California. Her mother, Judy Lysle , worked at a museum, and her father, John Boden Smart, was a salesman...
as Dot Bryant - James DuvalJames DuvalJames Edward Duval is an American actor, who is most famous for his roles in the Gregg Araki trilogy—Totally Fucked Up, The Doom Generation, and Nowhere—in addition to Frank in Donnie Darko, Blank in May, Miguel in Independence Day and Singh in Go.-Personal life:Duval was born in Detroit, Michigan...
as Westy - Jorja FoxJorja FoxJorja-An Fox , is an American actress, musician and songwriter. She first came to prominence as a guest star on the television drama ER, portraying the recurring role of Dr. Maggie Doyle from 1996 to 1999. This was followed by another critical success in the recurring role of Secret Service Agent...
as Sarah Bryant - Christopher GartinChristopher GartinChristopher Russell Gartin is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role in the 1996 film Tremors 2: Aftershocks as cab driver Grady Hoover. He also had roles in the films As Virgins Fall, Johns and the comedy Friends & Family...
as Dr. Rutledge - Fred WellerFred WellerFrederick Weller is an American actor.- Personal life :Weller was born in New Orleans and is a cousin of actor Peter Weller. He is a graduate of Jesuit High School, a Catholic all-boys high school in New Orleans, and the University of North Carolina. He married Ali Marsh on September 6, 2003...
as Rickey
Release and reception
How to Make the Cruelest Month premiered at the 1998 Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. It won the Best of Fest prize at the 1998 Long Island Film Festival.
Writing for Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy is an American film critic and professor.-Life:Emanuel Levy began his studies at Tel Aviv University, where he received B.A. in sociology, anthropology and political science. He did graduate work in sociology, film, and culture studies at Columbia University, where he earned a Ph.D...
gave the film a mixed review. He praised the director's ideas and characters, as well as his sensitivity to the issues faced by young Americans. He drew comparisons between the film and Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
's early films ("in spirit and ambition, if not in execution"). He enjoyed DuVall's performance, although said it was "occasionally too intensely mannered", and praised the rest of the cast. However, Levy also described the film as uneven, with a "messy structure and lack of discipline".