| Bigger Than the Sky | |
|---|---|
 Movie poster | |
| Directed by | Al Corley |
| Written by | Rodney Patrick Vaccaro |
| Produced by | Craig Borden |
| Starring | Marcus Thomas John Corbett Amy Smart Sean Astin Clare Higgins Patty Duke |
| Cinematography | Carl Nilsson |
| Edited by | Axel Hubert |
| Music by | Rob Cairns |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | MGM Distribution Co. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $750,000[2] |
| Box office | $21,398[2] |
Bigger Than the Sky is a 2005 Americandrama film directed byAl Corley, written by Rodney Patrick Vaccaro, and starringMarcus Thomas,John Corbett,Amy Smart,Sean Astin,Clare Higgins, andPatty Duke.[1] Its plot follows a man, who after breaking up with his girlfriend, auditions for a local community theatre production ofCyrano de Bergerac.
After being rejected by his girlfriend, Peter Rooker, an art-department employee inPortland, Oregon, decides to audition for a small role in an upcoming local community theatre's production ofCyrano de Bergerac. Despite the fact that Peter has no experience or skill as an actor, the director casts Peter as Cyrano, the lead character. Peter soon becomes caught up in the various intrigues of the "theater people", including the charming but mercurial Michael Degan, the beautiful leading lady Grace Hargrove, and a cast of other eccentric players. Gradually, Peter discovers that in the world of theater, the normal rules do not apply, but in the end, everyone has a role. As Peter struggles with his acting, clearly he is not going to be ready for opening night.
An experienced, but universally disliked actor, Ken Zorbell, is brought in to play Cyrano. Realizing the writing is on the wall, Peter asks the director to let him relinquish the role and take another role as a background character. On opening night, the lead has not appeared, and the director asks Peter, who has never rehearsed the role, to play Cyrano. At first, he declines, but then realizing it is his dream, he plays Cyrano with great success.
The film was shot on location inPortland, Oregon.[3]
The film received a limited release on February 18, 2005, opening in New York City; Los Angeles;Atlanta;Portland, Oregon;Austin, Texas; andMinneapolis.[4]
Writing forThe Village Voice, Ed Park noted that the film "lopes along endlessly, a no-surprises foray into backstage high-jinks and the notion of life as the best acting coach there is."[5] Anita Gates ofThe New York Times wrote: "The surprising thing aboutBigger Than the Sky is its touching ending. A colleague has died, and the company gathers to honor him in an inventive, life-affirming way. Finally, it becomes clear that Mr. Corley's film is meant to be a tribute to the love of theater. It has just been posing as the story of one man's finding himself."[4] Marc Savlov ofThe Austin Chronicle awarded the film only a half star out of five, writing: "Bigger Than the Sky feels constrained by its unshakable predisposition toward actorly fawning. This film is so enamored of theatre folk and their lusty lot that you want to slap it about the face and neck and force it to go endure the inevitable hip-hop take on Beckett's existential yawn."[6]
