Tom Zuber has great credentials in Law but seems to prefer to dabble in the territory of cinema. Having not seen his debut film LANSDOWN (2001) it is difficult to judge from LITTLE ATHENS (2005) if he is improving with age, but looking at LITTLE ATHENS on its own merits it seems a bit sparse in idea and in production.Athens, Arizona is the bleak setting of this day in the lives of some fairly bored (and boring) youngsters, ne're-do-wells attempting to infuse sparkle into an otherwise glitterless place. Zuber creates four story lines, spottily interweaves them, and finally connects the dots in the last reel. The main problem is that comedy is funny because we care about the facilitators and here there really aren't any folks in which to invest. The cast tries hard and succeeds in giving us a taste of life in the flatlands of nothingville. D.J. Qualls (a character type who is very good, as in 'Hustle and Flow'), Michael Pena, John Patrick Amedori, Shawn Hatosi, Tory Kittles, Eric Szmanda, Jorge Garcia, Erica Leerhsen, and Michelle Horn are particularly fine and do their best with the material they are given.Tom Zuber has a style, a sense of non-scripted spontaneity incorporating the gross with the sadsack, and given time he may make a fine little film. This one just misses. Grady Harp

I recently watched Little Athens, and while I love multi-protagonist films (I'm actually writing one at the moment for university), I was rather disappointed with this particular film.For one, while most (most; not all) of the characters are fairly distinct from one another, they didn't have a lot in the way of redemption in the story. Most of the characters are so rotten in their own ways that it's difficult for a viewer to connect with them in any sort of way. To be honest, the only character in the film that was "likable" was Michael Pena's character. But his character was burdened by the fact that his purpose in the story was never really explained, nor did he seem to have any real purpose other than be in scenes with Jill Ritchie's character so she wouldn't have to monologue.It is also a tad unbelievable (though, I admit it does happen in the real world these days) to have several 20-something characters all engaging in behavior and shenanigans that would be better attributed to 14-17 year olds. Perhaps this is simply my opinion, but this kind of behavior in characters that we're supposed to like and connect with only makes us like them even less than we already did.As far as the multi-protagonist, intertwining story goes; I will admit that it is very difficult to write these types of stories and make them "work." Part of the trick is to have the viewer actually believe that these stories should connect somehow. But when you basically go the entire film having these character go through entirely different actions, and then simply have all of them happen to be where the climax of the film transpires, it comes across as being very contrived.While the film is not a complete travesty, and I did not detest it, I find it difficult to give a one-word summary any higher than "mediocre."

Was lucky enough to catch LITTLE ATHENS last night and think we're looking at an exciting young director. The film is constrained by its small budget but punches largely above its weight due to the ingenuity of its Zyber and the talent in the young, and I have to say, hot, cast.To compare it to the Outsiders perhaps puts too much weight on its shoulders and certainly the flavour is very different, but I felt like I was watching the beginning of a new set of burgeoning careers and it was tremendously exciting.If you have seen this film, please add your comments, I'd be very interested to read them.On a final note, the music on this project is phenomenal.(I work in the trade but have no affiliation to this film - to allay the fears of some of the other critics here).But don't listen to what I have to say, see it and make up your own mind.KilledCat

I have to start by saying it took me a solid hour to figure out that Athens is the town the movie takes place in. That being said, this movie's got big intentions and they are realized. I saw it with a great crowd, so the mood was cool. I won't ruin it, but the scene where the Jimmy character steals drugs from his dealer is classic. Really really good, and the female characters are super real which is something I don't think most movies have. My friends and I talked about the movie for an hour afterward. The guys are great, especially Michale Pena and John Patrick Amedori. Eric Szmanda has some very funny scenes as well which is great after seeing him in the same role every week on CSI. I loved the way the movie looks.