This Is Not a Test (2008 film)
Encyclopedia
This Is Not A Test is a 2008 comedy/drama written and directed by Chris Angel and filmed in Los Angeles, California
.
The film was released on DVD
in the U.S. on January 20, 2009.
) who's living his everyday life while trying to cope with his fear of terrorist nuclear attacks. However, with the threat so high he soon lets loose and jeopardizes his family and friends.
This fear begins when he hears constant talk of terrorism on the news. He soon begins to have nightmares about himself and his family dying as a result of a nuclear terrorist attack. He searches on the internet for "how to protect your family from a terrorist attack". He ends up at a seminar he finds on a website that specializes in providing people with steps to prepare for an attack. There, he meets comedian Tom Arnold, who is also having fears of an attack. He and Arnold end up forming a close relationship later in the film.
Carl begins to clean out his basement and convert it into a fallout shelter
. He fills it with emergency supply items (duct tape, food, water, flashlights, batteries, an EMP-proof
radio, etc.). This worries his wife Viv, who is pregnant. She sends him to a therapist, whom Carl dislikes. Viv is even more worried when Tom takes Carl out to the shooting range at a gun shop, where Carl buys a 9mm Glock pistol. He places it and some gold he buys in a safe, which is delivered by three shady-looking characters. The gold, safe, and gun are lost when the same guys who delivered the safe, rob Carl and tie him and Viv up in the shelter.
During a scene when Carl is scanning his shelter for radiation, he sees a high radiation count in a plate he obtained from a homeless man earlier in the film. He returns the plate to him, however the man does not believe him and gives him a card to a mental health clinic.
In one scene, Carl goes to a comedy club where Tom is performing, and hears Tom joking about him. He feels betrayed, and avoids contact with Tom.
Carl soon begins to believe that America is a dangerous place, and he searches for a home in British Columbia. This leads to Viv and him being separated. Carl buys the new house and says goodbye to his wife when she is heading to work. Just as Carl is packing, Tom calls him, and apologizes for his stage performance. He then tells Carl that one of his friends deep in the government reported that bomb disposal units have been dispatched to downtown L.A., where an armed suitcase nuke
had been found. Tom has saved two seats in a jet for him and Viv to escape from the impending attack. Carl agrees to go along and gets his dog, and then tries to warn Viv. She does not believe him and hangs up on him. Carl then calls his students and warns them to take shelter.
The Emergency Alert System
comes on the air and broadcasts an EAN warning of the terrorist attack. Carl calls Viv again, who now believes him but cannot leave because she is working the crisis at City Hall. He shows up at the airport, and tells Tom he's not going. He gives Tom his dog and drives to the government building to find Viv and take shelter. With two minutes left until the bomb detonates, he finds her working the 911 service. When he tells Viv to go to the shelter with him, she expresses concerns about the people needing help. In the last seconds before detonation, Viv and Carl say they love each other one last time.
The explosion is not shown, however Carl gives an afterword.
(Hill Harper
, Carmine Giovinazzo
, and Eddie Cahill
). However, these claims turned out to be unwarranted.
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
The film was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in the U.S. on January 20, 2009.
Storyline
The film is based around a teacher named Carl (Hill HarperHill Harper
Francis Harper , known professionally as Hill Harper, is an American film, television and stage actor, and author. An alumnus of Harvard Law School, he is best known for his portrayal of Dr...
) who's living his everyday life while trying to cope with his fear of terrorist nuclear attacks. However, with the threat so high he soon lets loose and jeopardizes his family and friends.
This fear begins when he hears constant talk of terrorism on the news. He soon begins to have nightmares about himself and his family dying as a result of a nuclear terrorist attack. He searches on the internet for "how to protect your family from a terrorist attack". He ends up at a seminar he finds on a website that specializes in providing people with steps to prepare for an attack. There, he meets comedian Tom Arnold, who is also having fears of an attack. He and Arnold end up forming a close relationship later in the film.
Carl begins to clean out his basement and convert it into a fallout shelter
Fallout shelter
A fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designed to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War....
. He fills it with emergency supply items (duct tape, food, water, flashlights, batteries, an EMP-proof
Electromagnetic pulse
An electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field...
radio, etc.). This worries his wife Viv, who is pregnant. She sends him to a therapist, whom Carl dislikes. Viv is even more worried when Tom takes Carl out to the shooting range at a gun shop, where Carl buys a 9mm Glock pistol. He places it and some gold he buys in a safe, which is delivered by three shady-looking characters. The gold, safe, and gun are lost when the same guys who delivered the safe, rob Carl and tie him and Viv up in the shelter.
During a scene when Carl is scanning his shelter for radiation, he sees a high radiation count in a plate he obtained from a homeless man earlier in the film. He returns the plate to him, however the man does not believe him and gives him a card to a mental health clinic.
In one scene, Carl goes to a comedy club where Tom is performing, and hears Tom joking about him. He feels betrayed, and avoids contact with Tom.
Carl soon begins to believe that America is a dangerous place, and he searches for a home in British Columbia. This leads to Viv and him being separated. Carl buys the new house and says goodbye to his wife when she is heading to work. Just as Carl is packing, Tom calls him, and apologizes for his stage performance. He then tells Carl that one of his friends deep in the government reported that bomb disposal units have been dispatched to downtown L.A., where an armed suitcase nuke
Suitcase nuke
A suitcase nuke is a tactical nuclear weapon which uses, or is portable enough that it could use, a suitcase as its delivery method. Synonyms include suitcase bomb, backpack nuke, mini-nuke, pocket nuke and snuke....
had been found. Tom has saved two seats in a jet for him and Viv to escape from the impending attack. Carl agrees to go along and gets his dog, and then tries to warn Viv. She does not believe him and hangs up on him. Carl then calls his students and warns them to take shelter.
The Emergency Alert System
Emergency Alert System
The Emergency Alert System is a national warning system in the United States put into place on January 1, 1997, when it superseded the Emergency Broadcast System , which itself had superseded the CONELRAD System...
comes on the air and broadcasts an EAN warning of the terrorist attack. Carl calls Viv again, who now believes him but cannot leave because she is working the crisis at City Hall. He shows up at the airport, and tells Tom he's not going. He gives Tom his dog and drives to the government building to find Viv and take shelter. With two minutes left until the bomb detonates, he finds her working the 911 service. When he tells Viv to go to the shelter with him, she expresses concerns about the people needing help. In the last seconds before detonation, Viv and Carl say they love each other one last time.
The explosion is not shown, however Carl gives an afterword.
Main characters
The casting aroused speculation that the film would have some elements of CSI because three of the actors starred in forensic science drama CSI: NYCSI: NY
CSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that premiered on September 22, 2004, on CBS. The show follows the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths as well as other crimes...
(Hill Harper
Hill Harper
Francis Harper , known professionally as Hill Harper, is an American film, television and stage actor, and author. An alumnus of Harvard Law School, he is best known for his portrayal of Dr...
, Carmine Giovinazzo
Carmine Giovinazzo
Carmine Dominick Giovinazzo is an American actor and singer, best known for his role as Detective Danny Messer in CSI: NY.-Early life:Giovinazzo was born and raised on Staten Island, the son of Nancy and Dominick, who was a police officer. He comes from a family of policemen and has Italian,...
, and Eddie Cahill
Eddie Cahill
Edmund Patrick "Eddie" Cahill is an American actor best known for portraying "Miracle on Ice" goalie Jim Craig in the movie Miracle, and for playing the fictional roles of Tag Jones on Friends and Detective Don Flack on CSI: NY.-Early life:Cahill was born in New York City, New York. He is the...
). However, these claims turned out to be unwarranted.
| Character | Actor |
|---|---|
| Carl | Hill Harper Hill Harper Francis Harper , known professionally as Hill Harper, is an American film, television and stage actor, and author. An alumnus of Harvard Law School, he is best known for his portrayal of Dr... |
| Viv | Robinne Lee Robinne Lee Robinne Lee is an American actress. She appeared in Hotel for Dogs with Don Cheadle and Emma Roberts and with Will Smith in Seven Pounds.-Life and career:... |
| Tom Arnold | Tom Arnold Tom Arnold (actor) Thomas Dwaine "Tom" Arnold is an American actor and comedian. He has appeared in many films, perhaps most notably True Lies . He was the host of The Best Damn Sports Show Period for four years.-Early life:... |
| Trey | Carmine Giovinazzo Carmine Giovinazzo Carmine Dominick Giovinazzo is an American actor and singer, best known for his role as Detective Danny Messer in CSI: NY.-Early life:Giovinazzo was born and raised on Staten Island, the son of Nancy and Dominick, who was a police officer. He comes from a family of policemen and has Italian,... |
| Robert Forte | Eddie Cahill Eddie Cahill Edmund Patrick "Eddie" Cahill is an American actor best known for portraying "Miracle on Ice" goalie Jim Craig in the movie Miracle, and for playing the fictional roles of Tag Jones on Friends and Detective Don Flack on CSI: NY.-Early life:Cahill was born in New York City, New York. He is the... |
| Teresa | Bellamy Young Bellamy Young Bellamy Young is an American television, motion picture, and theatre actress.Born Amy Young in Asheville, North Carolina, Young graduated from Yale University in 1991... |
| Wendy Romer | Melissa Fitzgerald Melissa Fitzgerald Melissa Fitzgerald is an American actress best known for her role on the TV program The West Wing as Carol Fitzpatrick, assistant to C. J. Cregg.... |
| Matt Romer | Anthony DeSantis |
| Rick Smyth | Gordon Currie Gordon Currie Gordon Currie is a Canadian and American actor. He has also directed, written and produced several films. He works in both the U.S. and Canada in television and film roles. He is probably best known for his role as Nicolae Carpathia in Left Behind-Early life:Currie was born in Vancouver, British... |
| Johnny Dorey | Jason Manuel Olazabal Jason Manuel Olazabal Jason Manuel Olazabal , also just known as Jason Olazabal, is an American actor, possibly best known for playing Ramon Prado in Showtime TV series, Dexter.-Biography:... |
| Dr. Fred Natanz | David Ackert David Ackert David Ackert is an entrepreneur and business development expert. He is the founder of The Ackert Advisory which has provided business development coaching and training for service firms since the late 90s.... |
| Heather Tom | Heather Tom Heather Tom Heather Marie Tom is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Victoria Newman on The Young and the Restless, Kelly Cramer on One Life to Live and currently Katie Logan Spencer on The Bold and the Beautiful.... |
Awards
- Boston International Film FestivalBoston International Film FestivalThe Boston International Film Festival is a film festival in the United States held in Boston, Massachusetts which showcases over 90 films annually....
– Best Actor (Robinne Lee), Best Story Line (Chris Angel), and Best Director (Chris Angel) - Breckenridge Film Festival – Best Comedy Award
- Urbanworld Film Festival – Audience Award
External links
- This Is Not a Test at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- This Is Not a Test at Allrovi