A high school graduate is torn between leaving for California and staying
in Ohio with her boyfriend.
Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Jessica Michael Davis
Starring: Jessica Michael Davis, Colin Kelly-Sordelet, Emily Bergl, Adam Pascal,
Carolyn Kang
In many countries, the most desirable places to live tend to be on the
coast, leaving midlands dwellers to dream about someday getting out of
their small town and breathing in some sea air. In the US the MidWest is
often the butt of jokes, referred to as "flyover country" by that
nation's coastal folks. And in the MidWest itself, Ohio often bears the
brunt of disparaging comments. Ohio native
Jessica Michael Davis pays tribute to her home state with her
feature debut as writer/director, Escaping Ohio (adapted
from her 2021 short), while also acknowledging that it's a place most
people with ambition end up leaving.
Davis casts herself in the lead role of Sam, who has just graduated
from high school in the small Ohio city of Akron. Well versed in the
tropes of the American teen comedy, Davis opens her movie with one of
those classic montages in which the heroine introduces us to the details
of her world while punk pop plays on the soundtrack. The centre of Sam's
world is her best friend JJ (Colin Kelly-Sordelet). Lifelong
friends, the two even work at the same fast food outlet so they can
spend time in each other's company.
It's clear to everyone but Sam and JJ that they have a mutual
attraction beyond friendship. One night the penny drops and they begin
snogging, and for the following weeks they're inseparable. Trouble is,
Sam has been accepted for an internship with a California-based
publisher. JJ has no interest in leaving Akron, and so does his best to
convince Sam that she belongs in Ohio.
Over the last couple of decades it's become a cliché in American indie
films for the protagonist to realise that the small town they're so down
on actually has more to offer them than the big city they're either
headed for or as is so often the case, have returned from. Kudos to
Davis for bucking this trend with her debut. While JJ and the film
itself do a good job of showcasing the undervalued charms of Ohio, we're
left in no doubt that Sam needs to leave to pursue her ambitions. This
is a sad truth for millions of young people who might live in a scenic
and pleasant part of their country, but decades of centralising industry
and commerce around a few key urban areas means they have few options if
they decide to stay put.
There's one big issue with Escaping Ohio however, and
that's the casting of the two leads. Davis and Kelly-Sordelet are very
good, and share a tangible chemistry. But they're simply too old for
their roles. I haven't been able to find their ages but neither look a
day younger than 25. Watching them mess around on skateboards calls to
mind that popular online meme of Steve Buscemi in 30 Rock. It's particularly problematic in the case of Kelly-Sordelet, as JJ's
solipsistic attempts to keep Sam around come off as a lot creepier than
they might have if the role had been taken by a more age-appropriate
actor. We could dismiss this as innocent heartbreak for a teenage boy,
but watching a grown man play this role removes any sympathy we might
have for JJ. In the final act you'll be forgiven for thinking the movie
is about to take a dark turn into "stalked by my BFF" territory. It
would be very easy for some wag with editing software to take
Escaping Ohio and knock out one of those YouTube trailers
that turns a comedy into a psycho-thriller.
The film never actually takes us down any such dark roads. It's as
sunny in its disposition as a Disney channel kids show. Much of this is
down to the presence of Davis, who has a real star quality. While
there's little here to mark her out as a writer/director to watch, it's
clear she has a bright future in front of the camera.
