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Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that although this little indie drama stars comedic actors like Paul Rudd and Ken Marino, it's actually an intimate, mostly serious look at the lives of a group of 1970s Long Island clamdiggers -- so it's not likely to appeal to teens unless they're fans of the cast (what, your kids aren't into clamdigging?). The thirtysomething working-class friends explore mature subjects like death, adultery, unplanned pregnancy, job insecurity, promiscuity, and marital problems. Drug and alcohol use and adult language are constant.

Families can talk about how both people and institutions behave in the movie. What's the movie's message about what big companies do to independent workers? Do you agree? Why or why not? And how do the characters react to difficult issues like grief and complicated parent-child relationships? Families can also discuss the movie's '70s setting. Do you think this is an accurate depiction of that era? Do you think the same story could have been told in a contemporary setting? Why or why not?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Sandie Angulo Chen

DIGGERS is a small period drama that tackles everything from death and abortion to the demise of independent fishermen in 1970s Long Island. Starring a notable ensemble of character actors -- many of whom are equally at ease with both comedy and drama -- Diggers is an affecting chronicle of hard-working, hard-partying friends.

Paul Rudd stars as Hunt, who comes from a long line of Island clamdiggers but would prefer to spend his days taking black-and-white pictures. One morning when he's late to join his father out on the water, Hunt finds his pop dead. While he bottles up his guilt and subconscious relief, his sister, Gina (Maura Tierney), takes up with the neighborhood lothario (fellow ER alum Ron Eldard), shagging without any strings attached.

Hunt and Gina have other colorful friends -- like Lozo (co-writer/producer Ken Marino, on whose family the story is loosely based); his long-suffering wife, Julie (Sarah Paulson), and the clique's perpetually high philosophizer, Cons (Josh Hamilton). All of them endure the little indignities that accompany working-class life (like the threat of financial ruin by a large corporate fishing company), but with enough booze, cigarettes, and company, they all manage to survive day by day.

Director Katherine Dieckmann's eye for detail expertly depicts the blue-collar '70s tableau -- from the wild-printed clothes and avocado-and-tan decor to the nonchalance with which a father drives his four un-seatbelted children around in a hearse-like station wagon. You can almost smell the smoke-encrusted wallpaper in every scene.

Clad in designer bell bottoms, Elton John sunglasses, and gold hoop earrings, Lauren Ambrose co-stars as Zoey, a summering Manhattanite who shags Hunt and symbolizes how the better half lives. She can't believe that Hunt and his friends have never checked out the city, even though it's just a couple hours away, and her brassy worldliness finally makes Hunt curious about the world beyond Long Island. His drive at the film's bittersweet end will remind everyone who's ever left a small town just how exciting and terrifying it can be to leave home and everyone you know.

Families who like ensemble indies about working-class friends should also check out Mystic Pizza, Outside Providence, and Dazed and Confused.

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