Cinematical

I looked forward to seeing The Cassidy Kids because I'd enjoyed Dear Pillow, the previous feature film from local filmmakers Jacob Vaughan and Bryan Poyser. The Cassidy Kids, which Vaughan directed and Poyser produced, was quite a different film. For one thing, this movie had an actual budget: it was in color and its cast included nationally known character actors. The Cassidy Kids looked slicker and more commercial than I expected. The film also has a much more complicated setup than Dear Pillow, with several storylines entwining that occur in different places and times.

The title of The Cassidy Kids was misleading: many people at SXSW seemed to think it might be a kids' movie, or that it would be primarily about children. While the movie does flash back to childhood scenes from the main characters' lives, it is the adults in the present time who are the focus of the story. As children, the "Cassidy Kids" were involved in the resolution of a mysterious murder case, which inspired a TV show (called The Cassidy Kids, natch) in which adorable child actors portrayed the kids and solved much less serious mysteries. Decades later, the original group is reunited when the TV show is released on DVD, and they realize that not everything in the mystery they "solved" might have been quite as straightforward as it once appeared.

The Cassidy Kids reminded me a lot of John Sayles' 1995 film Lone Star. Both are ostensibly mystery/suspense films: decades-old situations surface for the characters to resolve. However, the films are not about these mysteries as much as they are about the relationships beneath them. In The Cassidy Kids, Rebecca (Anne Ramsay) encounters her childhood friend Dennis (Kadeem Hardison) after decades of not speaking. She's also trying to care for her sick father, pack and move her childhood home, and deal with other childhood acquaintances she'd rather not see again. The resolution of the mystery plot may seem pat and predictable; however, the suspense for me was not in the unsolved aspects of the mystery, but in the relationships these characters might develop or break by the end of the movie.

The Cassidy Kids shifts between three separate sets of storylines. The real-life grownup "Cassidy Kids" reunite in the present day to record a DVD feature for the TV show based on their childhood adventures. However, the movie also includes non-sequential flashbacks to the events that drew the kids together, as well as excerpts from the 1980s TV show. Some of the transitions are a little rough and confusing; it takes a minute to realize which time we're watching. Fortunately, the TV show segments are saturated with color and had that 1980s kids' show look, which helped a lot. (It reminded me of "The Bloodhound Gang" segments from 3-2-1 Contact, a show my little sister liked.)

The characters, rather than the plot, are what make The Cassidy Kids an enjoyable movie. Consistently good acting overall contributed greatly to the film. Tiger Darrow is notable in the children's storyline as young Rebecca. Despite the fact that Kadeem Hardison has been known up until now for broadly comic roles—many people remember him as Dwayne Wayne from A Different World—he shows real depth and complexity in his role as the adult Dennis, and stands out among the adult cast.

Austin film fans might enjoy seeing Rusty Kelley (from Dear Pillow) as young Max Cassidy, Cyndi Williams as one of the parents, and local comedian John Erler (of The Sinus Guys) playing the TV show's villain. The crew was full of well-known local filmmakers: for example, Kyle Henry (who directed Room) edited the film. It was odd to have seen Gretchen earlier that day and realize that both that film and The Cassidy Kids were photographed by PJ Raval; the two films each had an entirely different look.

The Cassidy Kids nearly sold out the Paramount in its premiere screening during SXSW. The crowd contained a number of people affiliated with Burnt Orange Productions, a local production company. Burnt Orange partners with the University of Texas so film students can work as crew on local films. You could not tell from watching The Cassidy Kids that its crew included students starting to learn their craft. I hope the movie will find distribution outside the festival and local circuits.