Detours (II) (2016) User Reviews

The dad and the daughter set to rediscover their relationship.

[Reno-Rangan · 7/10 · 4 November 2017]

This is a road movie, exactly opposite of one of my favourite in this genre, 'The Guilt Trip'. Instead, here a father and his daughter hit the road. Very brief introduction. Within the ten minutes, the adventure begins. It was like any other film you had seen, somewhat realistic, as well as cinematic. The life parts are so true, and so the relations between the father and daughter. The fun side of the tale is what the other side of reality. Just to make sure you are enjoying it, otherwise, those parts were never needed for such film.

The daughter who has given up her acting job to pursue a new career in the theatre management, embarks a road trip to Florida with her recently widowed dad. It is not meant to be a smooth trip. They talk stuffs, argue sillily, do things together for fun, so on. They are set to rediscover their relationship, after all the recent bad events happened in their lives. What happens when they reach their destination, lets us know before the narration comes to halt.

Never seen this cast before, nor the director. A decent screenplay, but being an Indie film, it actually looked pretty better than that. Those father-daughter things, like generation gaps, I liked that part. Not too funny or very serious, a balanced narration. At first the performances did not impact, only as the story progresses, it got hold strongly. One of the best B movies of the year, as well as in the recent time.

7/10

A wonderful, heart-wrenching, touching and funny ride!

[bknet-38-151093 · 10/10 · 24 July 2016]

I saw "Detours" at the Long Island International Film Expo along with two short films. While I enjoyed the shorts, I was blown away by "Detours". It's one of those films that hook you from the beginning and make you feel like you're a part of it, as if you're sharing a living room, kitchen, car adventure or meal with the players.

I'd seen Tara Westwood in "Surviving Family" and loved her performance there, but she won me over even more so in "Detours". Though her character's trials & tribulations here weren't things I have exactly been though, her performance made me feel her angst as well as her jubilation.

Her dad, played by Carlo Fiorletta, was both sympathetic and funny as hell. His humor, though, would come out of nowhere and be understated, making situations even funnier. In the end, though, it was his character's relationship with Westwood's that "made" the film. It was like they were real-life father & daughter (they're not).

I'm hopeful that there will be a sequel, because this is one family, albeit a two-person one, with whom I've love to spend more tears & laughs.

An Adventure full of love and laughter

[VTLithyouvong · 9/10 · 14 August 2016]

Ever since I watched "Surviving Family" written by Mara Lesemann, I knew I had to watch "Detours." She and her crew did a tremendous job on the previous film, I knew this one would be a success.

What a great film. An adventure full of love and laughter that many can relate too.

Dialogue felt really natural and I love the GPS, the motel clerk, and the cop. I usually don't laugh out loud but I did.

Overall, it's a great film, very enjoyable, and I'm sure it's on its way to winning some awards.

Keep up the great job Mara, looking forward to see more of your work.

Almost nice

[jsjsalerts · 15 December 2019]

Detours is a pleasant chic flick. My wife laughed and choked up at the touching scenes.

We both thought it had potential to be much more but the terrible direction spoiled it. Characters were constantly saying their lines as if they were reading a chart at the eye doctor. Dan's inflections seemed like he was in a different movie. He often smiled for no reason. Same for all the other characters that popped up The cop, the boyfriend, the girlfriends all were monotone, without energy or context.

It was Tara Westwood that kept us interested. She was funny and charming and sexy.

A Detour you'll be glad you took!

[preflight-92358 · 10/10 · 1 August 2016]

A while ago I watched 'Surviving Family' and was knocked out by how good an indie film can be without the top names and mega bucks in the mix. 'Detours' comes from the same people and the above statement still holds true, it's exceptionally well shot with crisp clear sound. A father and daughter journey, the movie shows how two people overcome life's problems by their own methods.

The acting is convincing, the father/daughter pairing are well cast and the supporting actors are extremely capable of backing up this movie. The music soundtrack for Detours is especially good and would not be out of place gracing a film way above the indie league.

Top marks, I fully enjoyed it.

Boring, flat, uninteresting.

[deloudelouvain · 4/10 · 10 September 2020]

Here we go again with the biased reviews from people that will only review one movie in their entire IMDb career, friends of friends from the cast or somebody else that worked on the movie, in other words fake reviews. Detours isn't that good, it's mediocre at best. It started a tiny bit interesting but you realize pretty soon this is going nowhere, or at least nothing interesting anymore. The acting is obviously from people with no experience at all, none of them will ever win an Oscar, I can guarantee you that. The cinematography wasn't really great either, it looked amateuristic but it's passable. The story is just too slow and boring, and by the end you just wonder why they make a movie like this one. There are good indies but this one isn't one of them.

A wonderful chronicle of a father and daughter on journey to a new season in life

[NicoleAmelioCasper · 10/10 · 27 July 2021]

I loved this film! The script was rich and emotional as well as funny ! Mara definitely developed the characters in a rich way!

The journey from New Jersey to Florida took me back to memories of traveling up and down the east coast, as well! I loved the way in which she envelops the main characters mom into the story and how it affected who she is today. The father's overwhelming forgiveness shows how families can stay together beyond a tragedy as well.

Overwell this is a very well done film - Absolutely loved it!

Father & Daughter road trip!

[RonArthurs · 10/10 · 6 December 2016]

A gentle and fun film that reveals a loving relationship that most of us can connect to on a personal level.

Jennifer Giraldi (Tara Westwood in a great performance showing Jenny's vulnerability and strength) has split from her husband after catching him in bed with … another man. She is confused as it seems everyone but her knew he was gay (including her late mother at their wedding).

Jenny gets a new job in Florida and decides to drive there, asking her father, Dan Giraldi (enjoyably and skillfully played by Carlo Fiorletta) to join her on the road trip. Initially refusing, Dan then agrees and they head off, guided by Joe the GPS (voiced by Craig Wollman). The interactions between the three on the trip are funny and poignant and add to the movies likability. The soft comicality of Joe the GPS is always lovable, Wollman has a great voice.

Dad brings the ashes of his late wife Grace Giraldi (played by Kim Director in a number of flashbacks) along in a coffee can so that they can scatter her ashes at sea.

Along the way the two connect more with each other and share various, some previously unspoken, memories of Grace, meet interesting locals (including a lovely cameo by Paul Sorvino), each have a one night stand and eventually arrive at Jen's new home. They hire a boat to travel 3 nautical miles out, thereby obeying state laws, and scatter Grace's ashes - a touching scene made convincing by the performances of Westwood and Fiorletta.

In all I found the film full of pathos and totally credible, made so by strong believable performances from the two leads and an accomplished supporting cast.

I thoroughly enjoyed the film and will definitely watch it again.

"Detours" is a gentle, loving road movie of personal re-awakenings.

[rjohnson-52 · 9/10 · 19 July 2017]

"Detours" is such a delightful journey! Tara Westwood and Carlo Fiorletta blend so well together as daughter and father, rising up from sad life events to rediscover joy in themselves and one another as they take a car trip and head trip together. As sweet as bubble gum bubbles, this film is a wonderful bouquet of two strong leads interacting with many guest stars -- some very well known -- all adding sassy spice, humor, and warmth, often all at the same time. Kudos to the film makers, actors, and everyone associated with this production!

Traveling the past via the future

[alexisdaloninyc · 9/10 · 1 September 2016]

A father daughter relationship designed by Kenny Loggins, orchestrated in a child's playroom, pushed together by an absentee mommy, and captured by an old school VHS player - that's the relationship and the "vacation" that unfolds between Fiorletta and Westwood. Once upon a time, at the beach when she was a young girl and he was the dad-mom it was easier but times have changed. Dad is much older now, mom is gone, and baby girl is leaving the nest times two to head towards greener or at least more glade like pastures in Florida.

Father and daughter find themselves without romantic companions as they travel together which leads to unexpected yet welcomed encounters. Eyebrow eyebrow. 

Much is revealed between them but the most important revelation is that these two are more similar than they are different and they are as much fun to watch banter as they are to watch behold one another.

The supporting cast is delectable. Again, some familiar faces, as Debargo Sanyal, our Indian rapper running the parents motel south of the border, bumps to the beat and steals the screen within seconds. 

The millennial with student loan debt and a stand O' Lemonade who really rides the line of 'wow is this guy for real or have we failed an entire generation' is fabulous.

I did enjoy this film and I recommend it.

Look, you are going to like it.

Woman on the road to jumpstart her life, takes her dad along for company-who brings mom's ashes along, for company, too!

[amy-lesemann · 9/10 · 17 July 2016]

This movie has what's needed to be a funny and touching movie, without veering into Hallmark card territory. Director McKaskell draws a great performance out of Carlo Fiorletta, who morphs, on screen, from a sad sack widower to a maybe-sexy single older man. Actor Tara Westwood handles the funny stuff from the start, from the humiliation of being the last to find out she's married to a closeted gay man, to realizing that, indeed, her father has needs just as much as she does.

Who would have thought? The nerve!

The cinematography must have been challenging, as shooting a road picture, realistically, always is. Yet the shots are relentlessly impressive - one lovely beach scene followed by Spanish moss followed by the quiet intensity of the boat scene near the end.

Unlike writer Mara Lesemann's first movie, Surviving Family, this movie is more focused, more tight, and so has a storyline that pulls one along. There are fewer side characters, and they serve as more clear foils to the major characters. That's really a plus - we get to know these folks well by the end of the movie. And we care about them. By the closing shot, we're really pulling for Dan to make that move.

So why a 9 and not a 10? Picky stuff, such as the love interest wearing his shirt the next morning, when the woman didn't - I've never known a guy to get up at night and pull on a t-shirt. A scene in a bar felt a little off. And still too many side characters, who seemed well- loved by the writer but could still be cut for greater intensity. But 95 plus percent of this movie was spot on, and the original music was fantastic - I would buy some of that music. The rapping night clerk? great. Phyllis Somerville plays the mechanic and we saw her in Surviving Family; here, we get a better understanding of the don't ask/don't tell mentality that lingers in the south.

Overall? Great movie. Would watch it again. If it comes near you, grab it.

Delightful road trip tale

[jhzmac · 16 August 2016]

Though we take ourselves wherever we go, there's nothing like a road trip to tinker with our inner coordinates. Old school maps in tow, agoraphobic Dan is heading out with his wife's remains in a coffee can to accompany daughter Jennifer on her move to Florida. Jennifer has her own problems: not only did she just find out that her now ex is gay, but he's also refusing to hand over her departed mom's coveted cookie recipe. Unless, that is, she parts with some of her mom's remains. Jennifer has a new job waiting for her, but first she has to give up some old dreams. Dan too has baggage, namely the closeted memories of his wife, who has left father and daughter with some edgy stuff to sift through. Guiding them to the sunshine state is Joe, the smooth-talking GPS with a knack for knowing people. Detours brings home the message that life might be full of potholes but the wacky stuff we encounter along the way makes it all a little more bearable. Even, if we're lucky, sometimes enjoyable.

A heart-warming and exciting journey worth exploring

[tskirkova-90418 · 10/10 · 15 July 2021]

Incredibly written and produced by Mara Lesemann, and directed by Robert McCaskill, the film takes us on an interesting father-daughter journey full of hilarious and heart-warming moments. The dynamics between Tara Westwood and Carlo Fiorletta's characters is brilliantly conveyed through the remarkable performances of the actors and the film's great cinematography. Definitely worth the watch!

Poignant, moving, story

[amyleigh07 · 10/10 · 9 August 2020]

A daughter must relocated with her grieving father. Terrific performances from the leads and special praise to the director for such delicate handling of sensitive material.

Dad/daughter road trip hilarity with poignancy and warmth

[samuel-shurtleff · 10/10 · 5 December 2017]

I really enjoyed this movie. The acting is superb, and a great script full of comedic moments. But the warmth and love the movie emits is its best quality. There are many funny and memorable lines, and I am going to re-watch to find some jewels I may have missed the first time! As a dad, this movie made me think about my own daughters and how important their lives are. I give this movie my highest recommendation.