No Picnic

Director: Philip Hartman
Screenwriters: Philip Hartman

Institute History

  • 1987 Sundance Film Festival

Description

Macabee Cohn’s (David Brisbin) heydey as a rock musician is past history. His gig is now to supply records to New York City juke boxes and collect money for his boss, known as ‘Head Honcho.” Anything to stay in the music business. Mac’s beloved neighborhood, Manhattan’s Lower East Side, is in turmoil—tenants on rent strikes, buildings crumbling, real estate speculators moving in and new faces spreading like the drug being dispensed on the corner.

Mac’s own life isn’t much better. His father left his mother for a younger man. His girlfriend left him to join the Air Force. His brother travels the country on a sexual sojourn, sending postcards of his exploits in all fifty states. In short, it didn’t look like it was going to be a great summer, that is, until he witnesses a fatal accident and becomes obsessed with a beautiful, but elusive, girl. A quirky, hilarious, off-beat adventure ensues, proving what Mac has always suspected—life really is no picnic.

— Lawrence Smith

Screening Details

Sundance Film Festival Awards

Credits

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