Mergers & Acquisitions
2001
Lee Tergesen plays Isaac Denton in this
low-budget independent movie
that had a successful run on the film festival/art house
circuit. It was released on DVD on Dec. 5, 2006.
In a 2001 review, Newsday praised
producer/director/writer Mitchell Bard for writing "ingenious, snappy dialogue that his
actors -- including Lee Tergesen as a worldly-wise co-worker -- have fun
rolling around in their mouths."
Lee has a good, wholesome role as Isaac, the
best friend and co-worker of the main character, Del Richards
(played by Steven Chester Prince).
Idealistic Del is on the verge of his 35th
birthday and feeling rather unsuccessful after 10 years in the same
job -- writing for American Homework, a well-established trade
publication for the home improvement field. He shares an office with
Isaac, a married father of two who is the practical half of this
friendship.
The plot revolves around two main problems Del
is facing: An impending take-over by a major corporation and the
deterioration of his mother's mental state. (She's an aging hippie
who seems to be showing signs of dementia.)
Del still is carrying major debt from student
loans, he may lose his miniscule apartment, and he shares custody of
his dog with his ex-wife, who is about to move to the suburbs with
her new husband.
Amid all this, Del faces the temptation of
whether to help the corporation take over the magazine. In desperate
need of money, he makes a deal that would make him editor in chief
and have Isaac as managing editor.
The fallout from this decision destroys him in
the eyes of his co-workers -- even Isaac. Although Del eventually
makes things right at the magazine, he's out of a job while the
publisher appoints Isaac as editor in chief.
Del and Isaac mend their friendship, but Del's
future remains uncertain. He's jobless and moving back into his
mother's house in the suburbs. (She is finally placed into a care
facility, thanks to Del's brother, a successful banker. That's
another strained relationship in Del's life.)
The movie concludes with Isaac razzing Del
about becoming a suburbanite who'll finally cave in to buying
designer coffee, driving a station wagon and going to the mall. The
sunny scene and light mood certainly seem in contrast to Del's
precarious position.
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