Vacationland (film)

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Vacationland

Directed by	Todd Verow
Produced by	Todd Verow
Written by	Todd Verow James Derek Dwyer
Starring	Brad Hallowell Gregory J. Lucas Charles Ard Hilary Mann
Music by	Colin Owens
Cinematography	Todd Verow
Editing by	Todd Verow
Distributed by	Bangor Films
Release date(s)	August 2, 2006
Running time	104 minutes
Language	English
IMDb profile

For other uses, see Vacationland (disambiguation)

Vacationland is a gay-themed coming-of-age film by Todd Verow. The movie, set in Bangor, Maine, is supposed to be based on Verow's life.

Todd Verow: “You grow up fast in the Capehart projects. There was always some new terror happening close by. A woman smothering her baby because she thought it was the Antichrist, maybe she was right – who are we to judge. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Antichrist were born here, or Christ, for that matter. There was the guy who burned down his apartment because his family wouldn’t let him watch his favourite Christmas special – which of course is the only logical thing to do. And then there was the woman who killed her husband and cut him into 15 pieces – ‘just to make sure.’ There was the woman who lived next door who was found sitting in her car naked with her throat slit ear to ear and her hands on the wheel, her eyes wide open. (…) In a strange way it made me feel like anything was possible.”

[edit] Synopsis

Filmmaker Todd Verow revisits his own youth for his latest work. The film’s main character is Joe (Brad Hallowell), who, like the director, grew up in Bangor in Maine. Joe, an 18 year old high school senior who longs to move away from poor white trash roots and this town, and dreams of attending art school, lives with his single mother and older sister Theresa (Hilary Mann) on a notorious council estate called “Capehart Projects”.

Molested at the age of ten, Joe nevertheless decides to keep the incident to himself. He befriends an elderly disabled artist named Victor (Charles Ard) who hires him as houseboy/model. Joe moves in with Victor in his loft above the local opera house, hoping to escape Bangor with his help. He also works part time at a local market along with his sister, who wants to get out of town as much as he does.

For most of high school, Joe has also had a crush on his best friend, Andrew (Gregory J. Lucas), who plays on the high school football team. He also fools around with his French teacher, whom he blackmails into helping him apply to the Rhode Island School of Design.

Andrew uses alcohol to try to relax with girls, but he hangs out in public bathrooms and lets strangers play with his leg hair and actually has a crush on Joe. Two girls they dated eventually convince them to explore their mutual attraction for each other. and they also check out the local gay disco. Joe is secure about his sexuality and his plans for school, although he has no idea where the money will come from, while Andrew continues to drink heavily while trying to reconcile what he wants to do with the rest of his life, and if Joe should be a part of it.

One night, a face out of Joe's past returns to haunt him, and brings to the surface feelings he thought were long buried.