Shaking the Tree (film) explained

Shaking the Tree
Starring:	Arye Gross Gale Hansen Doug Savant Steven Wilde
Music:	David E. Russo
Cinematography:	Rohn Schmidt
Editing:	Martin L. Bernstein
Studio:	Magnificent Mile Productions Reality Productions
Director:	Duane Clark
Producer:	Robert J. Wilson
Runtime:	97 minutes
Country:	United States
Language:	English

Shaking the Tree is a 1990 American comedy-drama film directed by Duane Clark, starring Arye Gross, Gale Hansen, Doug Savant and Steven Wilde.

Cast

• Arye Gross as Barry
• Gale Hansen as John "Sully" Sullivan
• Doug Savant as Michael
• Steven Wilde as Terry "Duke" Keegan
• Courteney Cox as Kathleen
• Christina Haag as Michelle
• Michael Arabian as Nickel
• Dennis Cockrum as Bannelli
• Nathan Davis as Grandpa Sullivan
• Ron Dean as Duke's Father
• Brittney Hansen as Brigette
• Turk Muller as Ape
• Ned Schmidtke as Mr. Jack
• Maurice Chasse as Cashier
• Mik Scriba as Tony Villanova
• Barbara Robertson as Nurse
• Kirk Thatcher as Craps Player

Reception

Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote that the "flaw at the heart" of the film was the "improbability of such cross sections of humanity ever cohering in real life."^[1]

Roger Ebert of RogerEbert.com rated the film 0.5 stars out of 4 and wrote, "The characters and their problems are both so cliched that it makes you wonder if the filmmakers had ever seen a movie before; didn't they realize how stunningly unoriginal, how worn out and overused, this material was?"^[2]

Peter Rainer of the Los Angeles Times called the film "yet another Diner wannabe".^[3]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Review/Film; Four Friends With Anxiety in Common. Holden. Stephen. 13 March 1992. The New York Times. 21 December 2022.
2. Web site: Shaking the Tree. Ebert. Roger. 20 March 1992. RogerEbert.com. 21 December 2022.
3. Web site: MOVIE REVIEW : Just a Scrap From the Table of ‘Diner’. Rainer. Peter. 24 January 1992. Los Angeles Times. 21 December 2022.