My First Mister
Encyclopedia
My First Mister is a 2001 film written by Jill Franklyn, and directed by actress Christine Lahti
. The film is the story of an alienated goth
teen (Leelee Sobieski
) who forms an unlikely friendship with a lonely men's clothing store owner (Albert Brooks
). The film also co-stars Carol Kane
, John Goodman
, and Desmond Harrington
.
-goth
girl, takes a shine to the 49-year-old manager of a Los Angeles
clothing store, Randall Harris (Brooks), who also notices her. In an unlikely move, he gives her a job as a stockroom clerk, but she finds her way to the front of the store and begins to interact with -- and sell clothes to -- customers.
As the two strike up an unlikely friendship, they realize that neither has any close friends with whom they can talk. They nickname each other "J" and "R." Randall helps Jennifer get an apartment
of her own with an advance on her salary
. He buys her a dress for work. While he can't go through with getting a tattoo
, he does go with her to a cemetery
to lie on graves
and feel the "energy" of the deceased -- something she does regularly. At one point, Jennifer reveals to Randall that she engages in self harm
After Randall collapses in the street while taking a walk
, Jennifer discovers he has a terminal disease, leukemia
, and doesn't have long to live. While collecting his personal belongings at his home, she discovers the address of his ex-wife. Unable to contact her by phone, J drives to Albuquerque, New Mexico
only to find she had died six months earlier in a car accident. J meets the woman's (and Randall's) son, Randy, a deeply cynical
young man who was told his father had died before he was born. Jennifer convinces him to come back to L.A. before Randall dies. Because of Jennifer, they have a brief time to get to know one another.
Her friendship with Randall inspires her to seek a more friendly relationship with her own mother, father and stepfather
. In Randall's final days, Jennifer organizes a dinner at which his son and Jennifer's family come together to celebrate his life.
and Christine Lahti
had worked together. They were in rehearsals for a partly improvised comedy film titled "Kiss the Bride." The project never came to the silver screen. It would have been directed by Bob Balaban
.
Leelee Sobieski
's character, Jennifer, has a number of facial piercings, and cartilage piercings in both ears, but does not have her earlobes pierced—to which a reference is made in the movie. At the time the movie was made, Sobieski herself did not have pierced earlobes, as she did not have them done until 2006. Specially for her part in this movie, she did, however, have both nostrils, both eyebrows and her lower lip pierced, along with the cartilage of both ears. After filming was completed, she removed the piercings and allowed them to close up again, but kept the jewelry as a souvenir of the movie.
In DVD commentary director Christine Lahti
applauds the work of the cast and crew, remarking "[I] was very lucky to have such a wonderful crew..." During casting she was very impressed with Albert Brooks' passion for the role. When Sobieski was mentioned for the part "J", Lahti was skeptical that "...such a beautiful face" would capture the feeling and look of isolation that was needed for the character, but she changed her mind when she took the opportunity to meet Sobieski for the role. She did feel regret that the film was rated R, for language, despairing that the movie might not be viewed by teenagers who would like and relate with the characters. Also, Lahti mentioned several times that she would have liked to have more time to shoot different perspectives in order to facilitate story arc.
praised the film, writing, "These two characters are so particular and sympathetic that the whole movie could simply observe them...The bravest thing about the movie is the way it doesn't cave in to teenage multiplex demographics with another story about dumb adults and cool kids. My First Mister is about reaching out, about seeing the other person, about having something to say and being able to listen. So what if the ending is in autopilot? At least it's a flight worth taking."
Christine Lahti
Christine Lahti is an American actress and film director. Lahti has had a successful career in television and film. Throughout her career she has garnered 2 Golden Globe Awards from 8 Nominations, An Emmy Award from 6 Nominations and 2 Academy Award nominations...
. The film is the story of an alienated goth
Goth subculture
The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
teen (Leelee Sobieski
Leelee Sobieski
Liliane Rudabet Gloria Elsveta Sobieski , known professionally as Leelee Sobieski, is an American actress. Sobieski achieved recognition in her mid-teens for her performance in the 1998 film Deep Impact...
) who forms an unlikely friendship with a lonely men's clothing store owner (Albert Brooks
Albert Brooks
Albert Lawrence Brooks is an American actor, voice actor, writer, comedian and director. He received an Academy Award nomination in 1987 for his role in Broadcast News...
). The film also co-stars Carol Kane
Carol Kane
Carolyn Laurie "Carol" Kane is an American actress. Kane has worked on the stage, on the screen and in television. She appeared on the television series Taxi in the early 1980s, as the wife of the character played by Andy Kaufman. She received two Emmy Awards for her work...
, John Goodman
John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
, and Desmond Harrington
Desmond Harrington
Desmond Harrington is an American actor. He is known for movies such as The Hole, Wrong Turn and Ghost Ship. He joined the cast of the Showtime series Dexter in its third season as Det. Joseph Quinn.-Life and career:...
.
Plot
Jennifer (Sobieski), a 17-year-old mall rat punkPunk subculture
The punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
-goth
Goth subculture
The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
girl, takes a shine to the 49-year-old manager of a Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
clothing store, Randall Harris (Brooks), who also notices her. In an unlikely move, he gives her a job as a stockroom clerk, but she finds her way to the front of the store and begins to interact with -- and sell clothes to -- customers.
As the two strike up an unlikely friendship, they realize that neither has any close friends with whom they can talk. They nickname each other "J" and "R." Randall helps Jennifer get an apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
of her own with an advance on her salary
Salary
A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis....
. He buys her a dress for work. While he can't go through with getting a tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
, he does go with her to a cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
to lie on graves
Graves
Graves is an important subregion of the Bordeaux wine region. Graves is situated on the left bank of the Garonne river, in the upstream part of the region, southeast of the city Bordeaux and stretch over...
and feel the "energy" of the deceased -- something she does regularly. At one point, Jennifer reveals to Randall that she engages in self harm
After Randall collapses in the street while taking a walk
Walking
Walking is one of the main gaits of locomotion among legged animals, and is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults over the stiff limb or limbs with each step...
, Jennifer discovers he has a terminal disease, leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
, and doesn't have long to live. While collecting his personal belongings at his home, she discovers the address of his ex-wife. Unable to contact her by phone, J drives to Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
only to find she had died six months earlier in a car accident. J meets the woman's (and Randall's) son, Randy, a deeply cynical
Cynicism
Cynicism , in its original form, refers to the beliefs of an ancient school of Greek philosophers known as the Cynics . Their philosophy was that the purpose of life was to live a life of Virtue in agreement with Nature. This meant rejecting all conventional desires for wealth, power, health, and...
young man who was told his father had died before he was born. Jennifer convinces him to come back to L.A. before Randall dies. Because of Jennifer, they have a brief time to get to know one another.
Her friendship with Randall inspires her to seek a more friendly relationship with her own mother, father and stepfather
Stepfamily
A stepfamily, also known as a blended family or reconstituted family, is a family in which one or both members of the couple have children from a previous relationship...
. In Randall's final days, Jennifer organizes a dinner at which his son and Jennifer's family come together to celebrate his life.
Cast
- Albert BrooksAlbert BrooksAlbert Lawrence Brooks is an American actor, voice actor, writer, comedian and director. He received an Academy Award nomination in 1987 for his role in Broadcast News...
as Randall 'R' Harris - Leelee SobieskiLeelee SobieskiLiliane Rudabet Gloria Elsveta Sobieski , known professionally as Leelee Sobieski, is an American actress. Sobieski achieved recognition in her mid-teens for her performance in the 1998 film Deep Impact...
as Jennifer "J" Wilson - John GoodmanJohn GoodmanJohn Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
as Benjamin Wilson - Carol KaneCarol KaneCarolyn Laurie "Carol" Kane is an American actress. Kane has worked on the stage, on the screen and in television. She appeared on the television series Taxi in the early 1980s, as the wife of the character played by Andy Kaufman. She received two Emmy Awards for her work...
as Mrs. Benson - Michael McKeanMichael McKeanMichael John McKean is an American actor, comedian, writer, composer and musician, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Squiggy's friend, Leonard 'Lenny' Kosnowski, on the sitcom Laverne and Shirley; and for his work in the Christopher Guest ensemble films, particularly as David St...
as Bob Benson - Henry Brown as Jack Taylor, Salesman
- Desmond HarringtonDesmond HarringtonDesmond Harrington is an American actor. He is known for movies such as The Hole, Wrong Turn and Ghost Ship. He joined the cast of the Showtime series Dexter in its third season as Det. Joseph Quinn.-Life and career:...
as Randy Harris, Jr. - 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 Nurse Patty
Production and casting
This film was not the first time Michael McKeanMichael McKean
Michael John McKean is an American actor, comedian, writer, composer and musician, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Squiggy's friend, Leonard 'Lenny' Kosnowski, on the sitcom Laverne and Shirley; and for his work in the Christopher Guest ensemble films, particularly as David St...
and Christine Lahti
Christine Lahti
Christine Lahti is an American actress and film director. Lahti has had a successful career in television and film. Throughout her career she has garnered 2 Golden Globe Awards from 8 Nominations, An Emmy Award from 6 Nominations and 2 Academy Award nominations...
had worked together. They were in rehearsals for a partly improvised comedy film titled "Kiss the Bride." The project never came to the silver screen. It would have been directed by Bob Balaban
Bob Balaban
Robert Elmer "Bob" Balaban is an American actor, author and director.-Personal life:Balaban was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Eleanor and Elmer Balaban, who owned several movie theatres and later was a pioneer in cable television...
.
Leelee Sobieski
Leelee Sobieski
Liliane Rudabet Gloria Elsveta Sobieski , known professionally as Leelee Sobieski, is an American actress. Sobieski achieved recognition in her mid-teens for her performance in the 1998 film Deep Impact...
's character, Jennifer, has a number of facial piercings, and cartilage piercings in both ears, but does not have her earlobes pierced—to which a reference is made in the movie. At the time the movie was made, Sobieski herself did not have pierced earlobes, as she did not have them done until 2006. Specially for her part in this movie, she did, however, have both nostrils, both eyebrows and her lower lip pierced, along with the cartilage of both ears. After filming was completed, she removed the piercings and allowed them to close up again, but kept the jewelry as a souvenir of the movie.
In DVD commentary director Christine Lahti
Christine Lahti
Christine Lahti is an American actress and film director. Lahti has had a successful career in television and film. Throughout her career she has garnered 2 Golden Globe Awards from 8 Nominations, An Emmy Award from 6 Nominations and 2 Academy Award nominations...
applauds the work of the cast and crew, remarking "[I] was very lucky to have such a wonderful crew..." During casting she was very impressed with Albert Brooks' passion for the role. When Sobieski was mentioned for the part "J", Lahti was skeptical that "...such a beautiful face" would capture the feeling and look of isolation that was needed for the character, but she changed her mind when she took the opportunity to meet Sobieski for the role. She did feel regret that the film was rated R, for language, despairing that the movie might not be viewed by teenagers who would like and relate with the characters. Also, Lahti mentioned several times that she would have liked to have more time to shoot different perspectives in order to facilitate story arc.
Critical reception
Film critic Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
praised the film, writing, "These two characters are so particular and sympathetic that the whole movie could simply observe them...The bravest thing about the movie is the way it doesn't cave in to teenage multiplex demographics with another story about dumb adults and cool kids. My First Mister is about reaching out, about seeing the other person, about having something to say and being able to listen. So what if the ending is in autopilot? At least it's a flight worth taking."
External links
- First Mister film info at Leelee Sobieski website