DREAMLAND

I'd totally go live in a trailer park under the power lines if John Corbett were there.

Dreamland is one of those sleepy indie movies that doesn't necessarily knock your socks off, but sticks in your mind long after the credits have rolled. With its stunning skyscapes and memorable characters, this little movie about life in a remote New Mexico trailer park speaks volumes about what it means to take care of the ones you love. For anyone who's ever put their life on hold for someone else, the young heroine's predicament is bound to ring true.

Audrey (Agnes Bruckner) is a talented young writer who has just graduated from high school. She lives in the Dreamland trailer park with her father, Henry (John Corbett), and works part-time at a nearby convenience store. Since her mother's death, Henry has done nothing but drink, smoke, and steep in nostalgia. A simple trip to buy cigarettes can reduce him to tears. "I get these attacks when I try to leave," he explains, and Audrey remains his primary connection to the outside world. How can she even consider leaving him behind and going to college? Well, one option would be to let me take care of him, but I'm sure she didn't realize I was available. John Corbett is kind of shaggy and fat in this movie, and even his voice sounds hoarse and strange. He's nothing like his usual self, and yet, he's still completely endearing and 100% hot. I'd totally go live in a trailer park under the power lines if he were there, but back to the movie....

Complicating matters further for Audrey is her best friend "Calista" (Kelli Garner). Recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Calista spends her days dreaming of beauty pageants and worrying about her ultimate demise. Her symptoms are minimal at this point, but it seems she has resigned herself to spending the remainder of her days in Dreamland. She clings to Audrey like a life-preserver, and it seems that she would be unable to cope without her. After all, who will comfort her and accompany her to her doctor's appointments if Audrey doesn't?

Though she's got a box full of college acceptance letters in a box under her bed, Audrey knows she won't be going anywhere. Her plan is to stay right where she is and write brilliant poetry like Emily Dickinson did, but things change when an intriguing boy named Mookie (Justin Long) moves to Dreamland. Their attraction is immediate, but Audrey ignores it, encouraging him to ask Calista out instead. Soon an awkward love triangle has developed, and it's sure to shake Audrey's world to the core.

Eventually Audrey has to own up to her feelings and give herself permission to exist, despite the needs of her father and her best friend. The consequences are messy, but out of the chaos arises order. Calista realizes she can make it on her own, and Henry ventures out of his shell to care for the girls who have coddled him for the past two years. When Calista gets into an accident, he's the one who spends the nights in her hospital room, and he's the one who's there when she has her little breakdown. Through her tears, she wonders if she's losing it. Henry replies, "There's a fine line between losing it and getting it."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know. I just made it up."

Regardless of the fact that he pulled this wisdom directly out of his ass, it pretty much sums up the movie: sometimes you have to go all unraveled before you can start raveling yourself back together again. Neither Calista nor Henry ever meant to hold Audrey back, and as soon as they realize she needs to spread her wings, they start looking after themselves. Real love truly is selfless, and every once in awhile, you get back what you give.