The movie is about a young man who decides to leave the big city and his job, go to his hometown and look for some answers. Willie is a piano player, and he lives in New York City. One Christmas, he decides to buy a one way bus ticket to his hometown, Knight's Ridge, attend his high school reunion and maybe forget about his troubles for a while. Willie arrives in Knight's Ridge and the provincial town seems stuck in time and covered with a thick layer of snow that needs constant removal. The only available jobs for young people are snow plowing and waitressing. The people seem dull and boring, and they look like they gave up on living a long time ago. Willie finds his father lost in the past and glued to the TV. His brother's life is not much different either. They still mourn their wife and mother's death, and they didn't even remove her clothes from the closet.
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In this oppressive atmosphere, Willie meets a witty girl with an unusual name, Marty. She is very smart and funny, and Willie is instantly attracted to her even if she is only 13 years old. She is like an apparition. She lives next door, but Willie's brother didn't know when did she move in or who her parents are.
One evening, Willie meets his old high school buddies for a beer, and he finds out that they all have relationship problems. Paul Kirkwood has an almost pathological obsession with models. Even his dog is named Elle Macpherson, and he has significant commitment issues. His seven year long relationship with Jan ended up badly because he couldn't get himself to propose to her and get married. Now, Jan is dating another man, Paul is extremely jealous and he fills her driveway with snow every night instead of taking it away.
Paul decides to finally propose to Jan because he can't stand the fact that she is dating Victor, the meat cutter. He picks up a ring and he decides to propose to Jan right then and there, at the restaurant, during lunch hour. Jan is a waitress and she in unimpressed by Paul's grad gesture and by his brown diamond called “champagne”. She refuses to marry him and Paul goes away.
Tommy Rowland can't let go of his high school sweetheart, Darian Smalls, even if now she's married to another man, and he has a girlfriend. Michel Morris seems satisfied with his wife and children and the others are constantly mocking him for being too content and for not wanting an affair or a beautiful girl. They are all dreaming of tall, beautiful girls but deep down they realize that their destiny is to dream, shovel snow and marry a local, not so perfect girl.
Tommy's current girlfriend, Sharon, is very aware that her boyfriend is still in love with his high school sweetheart, Darian, and that they have sex once in a while when her husband is not at home. She tries to make herself more attractive and she throws Tommy a big birthday party. The party seems to have some success but Darian shows up drunk and she starts fondling Tommy in front of everyone. Sharon is really embarrassed and she leaves the party in a huff.
Stanley Womack is another member of the former high school gang. He owns an inn and one evening, his cousin, Andera, drops in from Chicago. The boys are all in awe because Andera is blonde and tall and she looks like a model. Andera is also very funny and smart and she responds to Willie's banter. Willie sings some songs and they all have a good time.
Willie is attracted to both Marty and Andera even if he has an almost perfect girlfriend named Tracy. He tells Tommy that he is attracted to Marty and that he thinks she will become a perfect woman when she will grow up. Willie and Andera spend a night talking in an ice fishing hut and then she leaves the town for Chicago. The next day Tracy arrives from New York.
Tommy refuses to attend the high school reunion and he goes to a bar instead. He meets Darian's husband and his friends and they get into a fight. Tommy is badly injured and he alerts his friends. They all go to Darian's house to get revenge for Tommy but they can't beat the husband in front of his daughter so they leave him alone.
Willie decides to leave his hometown and to go back into the city with his girlfriend, Tracy.
Best part of story, including ending:
This movie is slow paced but it makes you think a lot after seeing it. I couldn't stop wondering for a long time about beauty and what makes a woman beautiful, what makes a relationship and a marriage last and the ultimate question, are all men really pigs and all the women beatches?
Best scene in story:
I like the scene where Andera suddenly shows up at the inn and the boys can't stop looking at her. They seem fascinated by her and the scene is funny because she knows that she is quite the sensation of the small town but she keeps it cool and she plays in their game.
Opinion about the main character:
Willie has some sort of midlife crisis even if he is not that old. I liked him because he decided to search for some answers instead of waiting for the crisis to pass.
Willie (Hutton) returns to his hometown for his ten year high school reunion, the first time he's visited since his mother's death. He finds that some things in the town have changed and others have stayed the same.
The review of this Movie prepared by Patti Illsley
