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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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IMDb

Available on DVD

Newsday review

Review by
The Movie Chicks
(very accurate!)