Socks and Cakes (2010)

Too much of everything

One of my all time favorites.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The drama SOCKS AND CAKES, written and directed with aplomb by Antonio Padovan, is an engaging character study about the petty jealousies and unhappiness all of us face on the deep, dark road to love and understanding.Timothy J. Cox leads a stellar cast as Harry, a rumpled literature professor, still in love with his ex-wife Amanda (Kirsty Meares), now married to the suave, but not so smooth Richard (Jeff Moffitt).Harry is a guest at a dinner party hosted by Amanda and Richard in their Greenwich Village apartment. Other guests at the party include the ultra cocky David (Ben Prayz) and his charming French girlfriend Sophie (Alex Vincent). The tag line for the film is ''all will be revealed'' and I will leave it at that, as I don't wish to give too much away, but I way say the the tag line does not lie.Padovan's script shows us the angst, the tears and insecurities that come with relationships, but he also shows us the fear and turmoil that often comes with living within one's own skin. The films' focus is mostly on Harry and Amanda; his loss of the only woman who may have truly loved him and her, the loss of her second marriage.The results are heartbreaking and heartwarming and credit goes to Padovan's outstanding script and to the fantastic performances of Timothy J. Cox and Kirsty Meares, each showing us individuals filled with primal doubts about their own existence.

SOCKS AND CAKES, billed as a dramedy, is writer/director Antonio Padovan's look at the lives of five New Yorkers at a dinner party in the Village, hosted by Richard and Amanda (Jeff Moffitt and Kirsty Meares).Their guests include real estate master David (Ben Prayz), his girlfriend Sophie (Alex Vincent) and Amanda's ex-husband Harry (Timothy J. Cox), a down-on-himself college professor.What starts out as a party turns into an evening where each guest tries to piece together the broken parts of their lives.It had potential, but we've seen it all before.Padovan's film tries very hard to mirror the best films of Woody Allen ("Manhattan"m "Hannah and Her Sisters") and to a lesser extent "The Big Chill", but the results are mixed.The title is a mystery to me. For one, it's a very childish sounding title. Two, it has nothing to do with the story that is being told.The acting is a mixed bag. Cox and Meares score as the melancholy college professor and his ex-wife, respectively, while Moffitt does nothing with his role as the womanizing Richard. Then again, he was given very little to do in the script. It is a competently made film from director Antonio Padovan and his director of photography Alessandro Penazzi, but overall, the whole affair seems like the start of a promising film, but never quite gets off the ground.

The short film SOCKS AND CAKES shows a glimpse into the lives of five people who get together for a dinner party in Lower Manhattan. The party turns out to be a not so pleasant affair though, with each character confronting some inner demons, as well as downing large amounts of red wine. Written and directed by Antonio Padovan, the film looks nice and moves at a swift pace and does feature some nice performances, especially from Timothy J. Cox, a fine turn as a boozy literature professor, but overall, the script felt too theatrical to me, better suited to a black box theater in the West Village.

Antonio Padovan's well acted, but bafflingly titled dramedy SOCKS AND CAKES tells the tale of five New Yorkers trying to piece together their broken lives over a dinner party. The film is exquisitely shot and edited, but the poor title may affect the films' chances at any future consideration in festivals. To this viewer, the title SOCKS AND CAKES conjures up an image of a children's story with lollipops and cotton candy, which director Padovan's film certainly is not. On a very positive note, the film is extremely well acted by a solid cast, including Timothy J. Cox's stellar performance as an embittered and lonely college professor looking to find some meaning in his life. Equally impressive is Kirsty Meares' fine turn as Cox's ex-wife, a woman coming to grips with the loss of yet another marriage.Padovan and his director of photography Alessandro Penazzi are to be commended for their impressive work, but the title really baffles me.