TIPTOES
Released: August 3, 2004 (DVD)
Matthew Bright is a director who is not afraid to tackle ultra black comedy and the good thing is that he succeeds when going for that style. Check out his wonderful 1996 flick "Freeway" starring Reese Witherspoon and Kiefer Sutherland for proof. Bright has done a few of these darker toned films so it was almost shocking to watch "Tiptoes", a movie that could easily have slipped into a dark comedic style. Essentially, "Tiptoes" is about a tall man (Matthew McConaughey) born from a family of dwarves who fears his own children will be dwarves as well. His new wife (Kate Beckinsale) learns of his family's dwarfness by accident and an interesting, thoughtful and non-condescending story about dwarves unfolds. It's hard to believe Bright had such a film in him as it just goes against films like "Freeway". Whatever though, both are good films and "Tiptoes" was fun to watch, especially the cast - McConaughey and Beckinsale are great. So too is Gary Oldman, who plays McConaughey's dwarf brother (he is 5'10" tall in real life!). Also stars Patricia Arquette, David Alan Grier and "star dwarf" actor Peter Dinklage ("The Station Agent", "Elf").
91 Minutes
Reality Check Productions