Advance & Retreat (2016) Prime Video. I'm reviewing this older film because I thought it could use a more complete review. I've now watched it three times.
It is about a woman (Riley Voelkel) who is currently in a relationship, but meets an old flame, which is nothing new in romance films. But this one differs in that it starts by introducing us to the woman (Voelkel) and her then-current boyfriend (Casey Diedrick) back when they were camp counselors at a youth summer camp, and probably about 18 years old, clearly in a relationship. A misunderstanding caused by another jealous female counselor was witnessed by Voelkel just before Voelkel leaves camp at summer's end. Voelkel is obviously devastated, as teens can be.
We don't see these two until a decade later, starting with Voelkel. She is now a successful junior executive at a marketing firm in the big city. She is now dating another member of the same firm (Brandon Jones), and Diedrick is a distant memory.
What makes this film FAR more interesting than most "meeting old boyfriend" movies is the plethora of other interesting--and important--characters. Everything starts when the marketing firm's boss (C. Thomas Howell), who is a mentor to Voelkel, decides their annual corporate retreat this year will not be at the usual cushy, fancy hotel. Instead, he's found a camp out in the country that does corporate retreats. Voelkel's boyfriend (Jones) complains about this quite a bit. He's the one at the company who recruits other companies to use the firm for marketing and "doesn't need team building," and he can't get anything done out in the woods, which he hates--and says so. This will start to annoy Voelkel. Her team leader (Whitney Anderson), is trouble from the beginning, and whines throughout the film--at least when she's not actively plotting to undermine Voelkel. She wants the fancy hotel, and she really does try to sabotage Voelkel at every turn. Voelkel's best friend at the firm (Bianca Lopez) is pregnant, and can't go on the retreat. They have the phone, but it isn't the same of course. Tiffany Boone and Mark Charran are Voelkel's team members, and they are both talented--and good souls, but they are discovering a romantic relationship with each other, and so are less aware of the bad actors here--boyfriend Jones and team leader Anderson. To be fair, we see that the team leader is truly evil from the get-go. The boyfriend is simply insanely jealous--because...
....although the camp now has a different name and a different business model--corporate retreats instead of a kid's summer camp--it's still the same camp where Voelkel was a counselor, and yes, Diedrick still works there. In fact, he owns the camp now. Initially, Voelkel is cold toward Diedrick, but he gets a chance to explain the misunderstanding of ten years prior. Over the week they are there, they renew their friendship--note, it's a simple, non-romantic friendship--but city boyfriend Jones sees red anyway, and cannot abide Voelkel even talking to Diedrick. When was the last time you saw a current boyfriend throw an undeserved punch at a former boyfriend in a romance movie?? Yeah, this one should keep you interested.
I think you've got the gist of the characters now. (By the way, there is one more great character--Dirk Blocker plays Diedrick's other staff member at the camp--his name is "Dan." Those of us old enough might remember Dirk's late father, another famous actor, Dan Blocker. I just wondered if that was intentional on the part of the filmmakers) Anyway, the way the plot works is very interesting, especially the ending.
By the way, during the film, don't get hung up on how certain activities are "team building" or not. Some activities were meant to challenge individuals on their own, some were meant to induce trust, and so forth. Regardless, if you spend your time analyzing how realistic a film is (and a lot of reviewers do this no matter the topic), you'll miss the movie. Keep in mind that romance movie scriptwriters cannot be experts in every field, and you may know more about something than they do. But leave your disbelief at the door. Sit back and enjoy the film. It's a romance film, not a historical drama.
I said at the beginning that I have watched the movie three times...that's because I really enjoyed it.
It is about a woman (Riley Voelkel) who is currently in a relationship, but meets an old flame, which is nothing new in romance films. But this one differs in that it starts by introducing us to the woman (Voelkel) and her then-current boyfriend (Casey Diedrick) back when they were camp counselors at a youth summer camp, and probably about 18 years old, clearly in a relationship. A misunderstanding caused by another jealous female counselor was witnessed by Voelkel just before Voelkel leaves camp at summer's end. Voelkel is obviously devastated, as teens can be.
We don't see these two until a decade later, starting with Voelkel. She is now a successful junior executive at a marketing firm in the big city. She is now dating another member of the same firm (Brandon Jones), and Diedrick is a distant memory.
What makes this film FAR more interesting than most "meeting old boyfriend" movies is the plethora of other interesting--and important--characters. Everything starts when the marketing firm's boss (C. Thomas Howell), who is a mentor to Voelkel, decides their annual corporate retreat this year will not be at the usual cushy, fancy hotel. Instead, he's found a camp out in the country that does corporate retreats. Voelkel's boyfriend (Jones) complains about this quite a bit. He's the one at the company who recruits other companies to use the firm for marketing and "doesn't need team building," and he can't get anything done out in the woods, which he hates--and says so. This will start to annoy Voelkel. Her team leader (Whitney Anderson), is trouble from the beginning, and whines throughout the film--at least when she's not actively plotting to undermine Voelkel. She wants the fancy hotel, and she really does try to sabotage Voelkel at every turn. Voelkel's best friend at the firm (Bianca Lopez) is pregnant, and can't go on the retreat. They have the phone, but it isn't the same of course. Tiffany Boone and Mark Charran are Voelkel's team members, and they are both talented--and good souls, but they are discovering a romantic relationship with each other, and so are less aware of the bad actors here--boyfriend Jones and team leader Anderson. To be fair, we see that the team leader is truly evil from the get-go. The boyfriend is simply insanely jealous--because...
....although the camp now has a different name and a different business model--corporate retreats instead of a kid's summer camp--it's still the same camp where Voelkel was a counselor, and yes, Diedrick still works there. In fact, he owns the camp now. Initially, Voelkel is cold toward Diedrick, but he gets a chance to explain the misunderstanding of ten years prior. Over the week they are there, they renew their friendship--note, it's a simple, non-romantic friendship--but city boyfriend Jones sees red anyway, and cannot abide Voelkel even talking to Diedrick. When was the last time you saw a current boyfriend throw an undeserved punch at a former boyfriend in a romance movie?? Yeah, this one should keep you interested.
I think you've got the gist of the characters now. (By the way, there is one more great character--Dirk Blocker plays Diedrick's other staff member at the camp--his name is "Dan." Those of us old enough might remember Dirk's late father, another famous actor, Dan Blocker. I just wondered if that was intentional on the part of the filmmakers) Anyway, the way the plot works is very interesting, especially the ending.
By the way, during the film, don't get hung up on how certain activities are "team building" or not. Some activities were meant to challenge individuals on their own, some were meant to induce trust, and so forth. Regardless, if you spend your time analyzing how realistic a film is (and a lot of reviewers do this no matter the topic), you'll miss the movie. Keep in mind that romance movie scriptwriters cannot be experts in every field, and you may know more about something than they do. But leave your disbelief at the door. Sit back and enjoy the film. It's a romance film, not a historical drama.
I said at the beginning that I have watched the movie three times...that's because I really enjoyed it.