Kevin Gage in Confessions of an American Girl

Release 2002 Runtime 88 min MCAA Rating R for sexual content, language, teen suicidal behavior, and brief drug use Web Sites IMDb From Amazon:  US DVD  US VHS We use & recommend Netflix.com DVD Rentals No late fees, free shipping.

Confessions of an American Girl Cast and Crew

Kevin Gage: Richard

Other leading roles:
Jena Malone as Rena Grubb
Michelle Forbes as Madge Grubb
Chris Mulkey as John Grubb
Brad Renfro as Jay Grubb
Alicia Witt as Barbie
Clifton Collins Jr. as Buddy

Director: Jordan Brady
Writer(s): Scott Sandoe
Studio: Independent

Confessions of an American Girl Synopsis

All Rena Grubb (Jena Malone) wants is the ideal family, but the deck is stacked against her, considering that her father (Chris Mulkey) has just been sent to prison. Still, she's determined to give it a shot, persuading her mom (Michelle Forbes) to haul the entire clan to jail so everyone can be together for the annual picnic -- which Rena hopes will lead to healthier and happier family dynamics. But first she must tell everyone she's pregnant. ...

Confessions of an American Girl Brief Review

Independent film, not widely screened and just released on DVD, June 7, 2005. Reviews at Netflix, Amazon and IMDb are cautiously positive.

KevinGage.net webmaster review: There's pain and sadness in the situation Rena and the other Grubbs find themselves in, but the characters have enough heart and humor to keep the film from becoming pathetic. Lots of twists: some you see coming, some you don't. Suspense is heavy in several places. There are a few fist fights and some humilations, but no heavy violence.

The reality factor was questionable. Family picnics with lifers? (Rena's father John Grubb was serving two consecutive life sentences for murder and was supposedly a maximum security prisoner.) Straight razors available to unsupervised trustees? There's kind of a dark Disney flavor to that prison.

The acting was very good. We especially liked Brad Renfro as Rena's brother Jay and Michelle Forbes as Rena's mother Madge. Star Trek fans may remember Forbes as the Bajoran, Ensign Ro Laren, in The Next Generation.

Kevin puts in a solid, believable performance as Richard, one of the prison guards. Richard seems to be something of a kindly corner cop rather the sterotypical sadistic tough. Nice touches of humor. We see him several times, including one scene where he takes off his cap and the comb-over looks kinda silly. It adds an endearing, non-threatening quality to his character.

Richard is a basically a good guy, trying to help Madge out by alerting her to some family issues. On the other hand, he seems to enjoy watching the confrontations between family members that ensue because of his meddling. Is he a troublemaker or does he just have a good sense of humor?

Motivations for a couple of the other characters were also vague or confusing. Can't give specifics without spoilers, but after two viewings I was still a bit confused about what was motivating Barbie and Buddy to do some of the things they did. This is not necessarily a flaw -- more of an interesting puzzle.

Overall, I recommend it.

Confessions of an American Girl Soundtrack

It's a shame that the soundtrack is not likely to be released commercially, as it's a good selection of tunes. I found myself watching the credits to catch the names, and here's what I caught:
"Sweet Angel" by Eddie Chacon
"Wide Open" by Sugar Danks
"OK" by Sugar Danks
"Nursery Rhymes" by Christopher Mulkey
"Bad News" by Paul Gordon
"This is a Stick Up" by Mama's Boy

The only song I found Amazon was "Wide Open," and the iTunes store had none of them. Appreciate a note if you know where to find more, especially "Sweet Angel." (According to this Eddie Chacon bio page, "Sweet Angel" was composed especially for Confessions of an American Girl.) Thanks!

Confessions of an American Girl Articles & Interviews

DVD Review: Confessions of an American Girl - DVDTalk.com, January 10, 2005
Reviewer rates Confessions of an American Girl 3 out of 5 stars, giving credit to Jena Malone and commenting that for a dark comedy, it doesn't give one much to laugh at.

Review: Confessions of an American Girl - Reel Film Reviews, January 10, 2005
Sadly, this reviewer can find it in his heart to give Confessions only 1.5 stars out of 4: "Much like Billy Bob Thornton's Daddy and Them, Confessions of an American Girl follows the exploits of a white-trash family - substituting quirkiness for actual plot. But where that movie had a certain amount of charm going for it, Confessions of an American Girl just doesn't work at all; the characters are obnoxious, the directorial style is bland, and the pacing is off (way off)."

DVD Review: Confessions of an American Girl - dvd authority
Reviewer credits the "superb" cast of Confessions of an American Girl and sees some good bits in the film. "But in the end, the filmmakers cannot balance all the ingredients and the movie turns into somewhat of a mess." The DVD quality is rated good. Recommended as a rental.

Review: Confessions of an American Girl - FilmCritic.com
Reviewer gives credit to the "four solid and underrated actors in the lead roles," but feels that the director fails to deliver a cohesive film.

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Confessions of An American Girl Reviews & Other Resources

Epinions: Confessions of an American Girl - Epinions reviewer rates Confessions of an American Girl 2.5 out of 5 stars, giving kudos to the young actress Jena Malone. Kevin Gage's role is not mentioned.

MGM/UA Movie Database: Confessions of an American Girl - From the film's distributor, an official page with synopsis, cast and crew, four stills and several audio clips in WMV format. Sorry, no Kevin sightings here.

Netflix: Confessions of an American Girl - From Netflix, a description and reviews for Confessions of an American Girl.

Rotten Tomatoes: Confessions of an American Girl - Rotten Tomatoes offers a small selection of mixed positive and negative reviews for the film.

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Confessions of an American Girl Video Clips

cag-01: Bananas and cake  «24-Aug-05» - I found it amusing the way Richard (Kevin Gage) cadged food from Madge (Michelle Forbes) and the Grubb family. First he swings by and "borrows" a banana. Then later, when Madge makes the mistake of joking about a file in the cake she brought, he swoops in and takes that away.
Quicktime video 240x180 (00'15, 448KB)
Quicktime video 320x240 (00'15, 1.3MB)

cag-07: Help you look  «24-Aug-05» - When Madge (Michelle Forbes) asks prison guard Richard (Kevin Gage) if he knows where her inmate husband might be found, he offers to help her look for him.
Quicktime video 240x180 (00'33, 1.1MB)
Quicktime video 320x240 (00'33, 3.3MB)

cag-09: Revelations  «24-Aug-05» - SPOILER WARNING: This clip gives away a major plot twist -- don't watch it unless you've already seen the film or you hate surprises.
Prison guard Richard (Kevin Gage) and Madge Grubb (Michelle Forbes) have a little chat, in which things are revealed.
Quicktime video 240x180 (01'47, 1.8MB)
Quicktime video 320x240 (01'47, 7.9MB)

cag-12: Confronting Barbie  «24-Aug-05» - SPOILER WARNING: Though this clip doesn't give away much, it won't make much sense without knowing some of the plot.
Prison guard Richard (Kevin Gage) confronts Barbie (Alicia Witt) about her behavior.
Quicktime video 240x180 (00'30, 896KB)
Quicktime video 320x240 (00'30, 2.8MB)

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Photos: Kevin Gage in Confessions of an American Girl

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