Ten Inch Hero

A group of employees at a restaurant in Santa Cruz deal with love, loss, and the bonds that hold them together.

Piper (Elisabeth Harnois) is an art student who reads an article about a young girl in the neighborhood who may be the daughter she gave up for adoption. Jen (Clea DuVall) is the painfully shy, self conscious geek who has befriended a guy on the internet but is terrified to meet him in real life.  Tish (Danneel Harris) is the maneater who takes on any cute guy who comes into the restaurant.  Trucker is the restaurant owner who is in love with Zoe who owns the Crystal Shop across the street and may or may not be a witch.  And Priestley (Jensen Ackles,) who is the mohawked smart ass of the group.

This is without a doubt an underrated gem!  A co-worker told me about the movie, and since we are both fans of Jensen Ackles ("Supernatural") I had to check it out.

This has a cute story by Betsy Morris, with competent direction by David Mackay.  But what makes the movie a step above the usual indie fare is the cast.

Elisabeth Harnois is totally believable as Piper; befriending the young girl (who may or may not be her daughter) and falling in love with the young girl's "father."  Danneel Harris (now Danneel Ackles..yes, she eventually married Jared)  is spot on as the restaurant "slut."  There is a storyline involving two guys that you can see the resolution coming from a mile away, yet she makes you care to see where it will lead.

I've always admired Clea DuVall, who is known for playing the edgy, Goth outsider type ("The Faculty," "Carnival.")  In her role as Jen she shows a vulnerability and innocence that won me over.  There is a scene
where she goes to a restaurant with Piper and Tish to finally meet her internet friend, and yet can't gather the courage to meet him that is heartbreaking.

The older couple of Zoe (Alice Krige, still looking stunning!) and Trucker (John Doe from the band "X") is also charming, with a twist ending that I did not see coming.

And then there is Jensen Ackles.  Why is this guy not a big star!  He is funny, handsome, and self-deprecating.  And the guy is the best at one-liners!  Part of the fun in this movie is seeing what color his hair will be and what outrageous T-shirt he will be wearing.  But he knocks it out of the park when he attempts to buy tampons for the girls to show them how comfortable he is with his manhood.  This scene alone proved what a comedic actor he really is.

So you can tell, I really enjoyed this movie.  I haven't blogged for awhile, but this movie got me back so I could let people know to look out for this one.  It is definitely going on my Christmas list.  Highly recommended!