Lance Sloane Movies

First-time helmer Steve Berra writes and directs the finely felt coming-of-age story The Good Life, a film à clef loosely based on Berra's experiences growing up in a Nebraskan small town during the '70s and '80s. Mark Webber stars as the director's alter ego, a more or less well-adjusted adolescent who nevertheless cuts against the grain of his football-obsessed friends and neighbors. Zooey Deschanel plays a young woman in the town who befriends Webber and encourages him to celebrate his uniqueness and individuality; Harry Dean Stanton portrays a local cinema owner who gives Webber a job running the theater. The picture co-stars Chris Klein as an abusive ex-high school football star, Bruce McGill as a worshipped football coach, and Bill Paxton (who also co-produced) as an admirer of Judy Garland. Though set in Nebraska, Berra and co. filmed in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The film reunites Paxton and Stanton, who also co-star in the HBO series Big Love. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

In an adolescent softcore story with a plot that is hardly credible, a young teen (Lance Sloane) has taken a bet that he can seduce the daughter of the town's minister in less than seven days. Once that premise is established, sexual encounters and low-level erotica follows with an understanding female (Sylvia Kristel). Character development is not of the essence here, and neither is the troubled, insecure woman who is the target of the bet. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide