LOCAL MUSICIANS, BARFLIES AND OTHER 99 PERCENTERS UNITE TO SAVE A FAVORITE WATERING HOLE IN A COMEDY FOR OUR DISTRESSED TIMES
WE ARE THE HARTMANS
Richard Chamberlain Stars as a Bar Owner Facing Eviction in a Film Foretelling the Occupy Wall Street Protests; It Comes to DVD and Digital Download on October 2, 2012
“A film that no one can afford to miss.” – Film Threat
New York, NY (September xx, 2012) – The little guys rise up against The Man – or rather, two women – in WE ARE THE HARTMANS, a potent indie comedy about the haves and have-nots that comes along at a critical juncture in American history. The rocking, feel-good movie, starring Richard Chamberlain as a pot-smoking club owner, comes to DVD comes to DVD and Digital Download on October 2nd via Virgil Films. SRP for the DVD is $24.99. Digital download outlets include iTunes, Amazon, You Tube, Netflix, Vudu, Hulu and other digital partners. On-Demand outlets include AT&T U-Verse, Comcast, Cox and DirectTV.
When the owner of Hartman’s Rock Club (Richard Chamberlain) falls ill, his estranged family swoops into town to sell the club and collect the money. What they don’t expect is a full-scale neighborhood rebellion by the eccentric musicians, drunks and drag queens that frequent the club.
Hartman’s Bar is the last hangout in a suburban town that’s been overrun by big-box stores, fast-food chains and strip malls. When the club’s aging-hippie owner (movie and TV icon Richard Chamberlain of The Thorn Birds, Shogun and Dr. Kildare) falls ill and is hospitalized, his two estranged, greedy daughters take advantage of his absence to zoom in and try to take over the club, with the goal of selling it. But a neighborhood rebellion quickly takes hold as the club’s longtime patrons and employees, including a pop star who got his start at the bar, return to help stage a fundraising benefit.
WE ARE THE HARTMANS marks the bold feature directing debut of Laura Newman, a singer/composer and member of the activist performance group Reverend Billy’s Church of Earthalujah, formerly the Church of Stop Shopping. The movie – which also stars Ben Curtis of Dell computer ad fame, Audrey Sawaya, Jennifer Restivo (Blue Bloods), Joy Suprano (How to Make It in America) and Jonah Spear (Across the Universe) – is about a small-scale occupation and was made before Occupy Wall Street by people who later took part in those historic demonstrations. The New York rock band Black Taxi provides infectious tunes to the soundtrack.
Film Threat’s Amy R. Handler said, “WE ARE THE HARTMANS is a very important powerhouse that will shock you back to life. Clad in eye-watering comedy, it is a film that no one can afford to miss.” The Huffington Post said, “It takes us on a joy ride from start to finish, pinked with great acting, witty writing and topics that the 99% can relate to. Much of the movie’s feel-good appeal comes from the cast’s harmonic synergy, rocking soundtrack, and organic characters.”
The movie, said The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney, has “scrappy charm and a heart-in-the-right-place sincerity … connecting to the country’s growing grassroots rejection of America as the land of the rich.”
