Ten Inch Hero (2007, R)

The title refers to a sandwich, sicko, get your mind out of the gutter!  OK, maybe there is a double entendre there, but it doesn't refer to any specific character(s).  This is a soft comedy, not quite drama/comedy though it's got some definite non-goofball elements.  It's got nudity, but not nearly as much as I expected based on the subject-matter-implication of the title (one scene, lower-fronts occluded).  It's about a girl named Piper moving to southern California to study art in college (and she has a peculiar interest in this one family/house though she is too shy to approach), and starts working at a local sandwich shop.  The shop is owned by and employed with quirky college town type characters (here I mean "character" in the personality sense, not in the story element sense)... think The Anarchist's Cookbook, but far less annoying to non-punk-type viewers.  Each employee has one major personality element that defines them and though they verbally jab each other they also love each other as a family.  I didn't expect much from this movie, and in that mindset the story is actually good.  It's sort of a... not quite coming-of-age movie, those are more of early/mid teen years... more of a becoming-who-you're-going-to-be-in-the-world movie.  Like a college developing-personality movie even though only one of the main characters is a college student (as far as we know) and her student aspect is not a focus of her character.  Acting was OK but not great, and the script didn't seem too demanding on the cast.  My favorite scene involved a man out to purchase feminine hygiene products (it was as good as ever I can imagine such a scene being).


The lead role of Piper was played by the adorable Elisabeth Harnois who I don't think I've seen in anything else nor heard of but she looks kind of like Emily Browning if she (EB) had a personality injection.  The only male employee (other than the ex-hippie owner) is played by Jensen Ackles (television series Smallville and Supernatural), whose character I was prepared to not like based on his initial appearance but who I warmed up to as the film progressed.  Actually that's true of everyone in the shop.  Clea Duvall (Matt Parkman's cop partner in Heroes) plays a somewhat mousy nice girl in the shop.  Sean Patrick Flannery (the Boondock Saint that is not in The Walking Dead) plays the charming and likable father in the family that Piper seems to have interest in.

Piper eventually becomes involved with the family and some interesting character interactions proceed as different bits of information come to light.  I think the most interesting character arc though was with the... well let's say "sex enthusiast" girl in the shop.  Apparently she has a habit of manipulating guys on the streets and in bed and treats them like meat (a bit of a gender -ole reversal from the standard) but a series of interactions and events cause her to gain some new perspectives.  Lots of the character arcs intersect though Piper's seems to be the least connected out of all of them.  It's not bad, but it doesn't mesh as well with the rest of the story... so it's like the main character is the excuse to tell everyone else's story).

If you liked Cherry or Art School Confidential, you should like Ten Inch Hero.  The quality rating for this movie depends highly on mood and expectations.  It felt like it started weak (which may have helped re-adjust to low expectations for later) but then got stronger.  Some of the acting, particularly the shop owner, was not very good, but none of it was abysmal.  But none was great either.  Expecting a bad movie, I liked it a lot, but if I expected much I would have thought it thoroughly "meh."  Overall I have to give it a 3.5 though part of me is struggling to call it a 4.  Definitely worth checking out though for a summer afternoon with some friends (possibly in college).