Digging 'Diggers'

Watched the director Katherine Dieckmann's new film, "Diggers," with Michael over the weekend. It stars cutie Paul Rudd and Maura Tierney as a working-class brother-sister coping with the death of their clam digger father on the South Shore of Long Island circa 1976. The "realizing you're really an adult once your parents die" theme isn't groundbreaking, but the smart script and outstanding performances -- particularly by Tierney and the hilarious Ken Marino (the former "State" star who also wrote and co-produced the film) as the siblings' hyperfertile friend Lozo -- make the film worth seeing. (It was fun seeing Lauren Ambrose in a small part that is decidedly not Claire Fisher, although her inner art student rises to the surface in the end!) One question though: what happened to the Strong Long Island accents, guys? Buy "Diggers" on DVD here.

Footnote: "Diggers" received a limited theatrical release on April 27, 2007, and also premiered on HDNet on the same day, and the DVD came out days later, on May 1. It's an interesting strategy for a "little movie" given the expense of marketing and getting a film distributed in wide release. I wonder if we'll see more "simultaneous releasing" options as the digital age continues.