By Ramas Screen

Last week I got to interview actor/producer Paul Alessi about his new movie KNUCKLE DRAGGERS. It’s a hilarious comedy that Rama’s SCREEN has been telling all of you to go check it tout. I reviewed it a while back and the the story is about Ethan, who gets dumped because he wasn’t able to provide his fiancée with the stable life her friends were living. Desperate to get her back, he seeks help from his older brother Kyle, a tough talking sexist who seems to have a way with the ladies. Paul and I talked about the casting, production, the characters, his upcoming projects and Comic-Con. Thanks to Wendy for making this possible. Check out the full interview after the jump.. (more…)

Knuckle Draggers (2009): A

It’s amazing that someone hasn’t made a “between the sexes” comedy called “Knuckle Draggers” before- it seems like a natural given guy’s sometimes-neanderthal behavior when it comes to dating. READ MORE

Knuckle Draggers follows the story of a down on his luck emerging director named Ethan (Ross McCall). Even though Ethan’s a great guy, his fiancée Heather (Jennifer Alden) leaves him because he is unable to provide her a swanky lifestyle similar to those of her friends. Set on winning Heather back, Ethan reaches out to his sexist older brother Kyle (Paul J. Alessi), a macho New Yorker who has his own unique philosophy on the dynamic of men and women. Disgusted by Kyle’s chauvinist view on women, Ethan’s female friends Patricia (Amie Barsky) and Renee (Danielle Nicolet) chime in to provide advice from the other side. As the story progresses Ethan is not the only one who is faced with questioning their relationships, and what it is they need from them.

Though the stars of the film are not household names, there are many familiar faces – Ross McCall was in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers and the Starz TV series Crash. Paul J. Alessi who is also the producer of the film was in Ten til Noon and the TV series Desire. Omar Gooding (Cuba Gooding Jr.’s little brother) was in… READ MORE

“Best Editing” – Alex Ranarivelo
“Best Festure Film” – Places 2nd Alex Ranarivelo
“Best Actor” – Paul J. Alessi
ReelHeART Film Festival

3/4 stars

I’m usually not the person to go to for romantic comedies as I haven’t found many I like. However, the reason this ranks higher than most is it takes a common theme yet makes it completely relatable to even someone as rom/com adverse as I am.

Despite the L.A. setting, the characters are all believable. The main problem I have with most of these films is that I can never imagine myself in that kind of situation – Knuckle Draggers, however, seems like something that could be happening right now, if not to me, then to someone I could imagine. I mean, the guys do… READ MORE

Amie Barsky is one of the talented members of the ensemble cast of a film quickly gaining accolades on the film festival circuit. Knuckle Draggers is a romantic comedy movie told from a male’s perspective. Barsky plays a co-lead in the movie and is also a co-producer.

Thanks very much to Amie for taking the time to answer a few questions for our readers in this exclusive interview Q&A. Learn about her background, including a stint as a cheerleader for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, and her current and future film activities… READ MORE

You know, it’s refreshing when a film actually tells it like it is, and I can’t remember seeing one that more clearly defined the truth about relationships between men and women than Knuckle Draggers.  To start, here’s a quick description of the film from IMDB, written by the film’s writer and director, Alex Ranarivelo…

“Knuckle Draggers” takes a realistic, but comic look at how the behaviors of men and women have evolved very little since the caveman times. When Ethan, the needy nice guy, is dumped by his fiancee, he asks his misogynist older brother Kyle to help him win her back. Kyle tries to teach Ethan how to act like “a real man” and to never put a woman on a pedestal. Repulsed by his brother’s harsh views on how to treat women, Ethan ignores his advice and ventures out into the dating world, where he slowly realizes that everything Kyle says seems to be true.

That description gets to the core of the film, but it doesn’t tell you everything.  There’s actually a … READ MORE

HOLLYSHORTS FILM FESTIVAL AUGUST 6-13, 2009

Hollywood premiere of acclaimed independent film Knuckle Draggers. Written and Directed by Alex Ranarivelo: Wednesday, August 12, 2009 at Laemmle’s Sunset 5 in Hollywood… READ MORE

Fresh off his “Best Actor” award at the Reel HeART International Film Festival in Toronto this past Saturday night (June 27th), Knuckle Draggers Producer/Actor Paul J. Alessi was gracious enough to take the time to answer a few questions for our readers in this exclusive interview Q&A. Alessi plays the co-lead role as Kyle, an abrasive divorced man who offers his “expert” advice on relationships to his struggling brother Ethan (Ross McCall).

Knuckle Draggers is an independent film with a talented ensemble cast (undoubtedly several future stars of film will come out of this group) that is currently… READ MORE