Groove (film)
Groove | |
---|---|
Directed by | Greg Harrison |
Written by | Greg Harrison |
Produced by | Greg Harrison Danielle Renfrew |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Matthew Irving |
Edited by | Greg Harrison |
Music by | Scott Hardkiss |
Distributed by | Sony Pictures Classics |
Release dates |
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Running time | 86 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $200,000[1] |
Groove is a 2000 American film directed by Greg Harrison. It portrays one night in the San Francisco underground rave scene. Through a single email, the word spreads that a huge rave is going to take place in an abandoned warehouse. John Digweed has a cameo as himself and also contributed to the soundtrack with Nick Muir, under their production alias Bedrock.
Plot
[edit]Groove tells the story of an all-night rave. The film is broken up into segments according to which DJ is spinning and features real-life DJs Forest Green, WishFM, Polywog, and Digweed. Introverted aspiring writer David Turner is reluctantly dragged to a rave at a warehouse by his brother Colin. David takes ecstasy for the first time and makes a romantic connection with fellow raver, Leyla, who has newly moved to the Bay Area from New York.
Cast
[edit]- Chris Ferreira as Bill
- Mackenzie Firgens as Harmony Stitts
- Lola Glaudini as Leyla Heydel
- Denny Kirkwood as Colin Turner
- Hamish Linklater as David Turner
- Steve Van Wormer as Ernie Townsend
- Rachel True as Beth Anderson
- Vincent Riverside as Anthony
- Dmitri Ponce as Guy Pritchkin
- Ari Gold as Cliff Rafferty
- Aaron Langridge as Joe Torres
- Wendy Turner-Low as Lisa Monroe
- Bradley K. Ross as Aaron Lubiarz
- Polywog as DJ Polywog
- Forest Green as DJ Forest Green
- Wade Randolph Hampton as DJ WishFM
- Monty Luke as Dancefloor DJ #5 (Cinco)
- Brian Behlendorf as Chill-out room DJ
- John Digweed as DJ Digweed
- Bing Ching as DJ Snaz
- Elizabeth Sun as Maggie McMullen
- Nick Offerman as Sergeant Channahon
Production
[edit]After being turned down by studios for funding, production costs were met by selling shares of the film to investors similar to angel investment of a startup company.[1]
The film was shot in the San Francisco area and included scenes at Pier One, Fillmore Street, China Basin, and the Bay Bridge.[1][2] Principal photography took place in 24 days in August and September 1999.[1][3]
Release
[edit]Groove premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, where it was acquired for distribution for $1.5 million by Sony Pictures Classics.[1][4] It was given a limited theatrical release on June 9, 2000.
Reception
[edit]On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 57% based on 51 reviews, with a weighted average rating of 6.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though high on energy and great techno tunes, Groove's characters and plotlines are too clichéd to be engaging."[5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 54 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[6]
At the 16th Independent Spirit Awards, Groove was nominated for the John Cassavetes Award.[1]
See also
[edit]- Go, another film about rave culture made a year earlier
- Rave, a film about rave culture released the same year
- Human Traffic, a UK film about the rave culture made the same year
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Bannerman, Betsy (April 2001). "Groove a Dream Come True for Filmmaker Greg Harrison". The Noe Valley Voice. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ "Groove". filminamerica.com. Archived from the original on October 21, 2007. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ Kleinman, Geoffrey. "Greg Harrison III - Director of Groove". DVDTalk.com. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
- ^ Brown, Janelle (January 28, 2000). "Sundancing". Salon. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
- ^ "Groove (2000)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ "Groove Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
External links
[edit]- 2000 films
- 2000 directorial debut films
- 2000 drama films
- 2000 independent films
- Films about drugs
- Films set in San Francisco
- Films shot in San Francisco
- American LGBTQ-related films
- American independent films
- 2000s LGBTQ-related drama films
- 2000 LGBTQ-related films
- 2000s English-language films
- 2000s American films
- English-language independent films