Say It Isn't So
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| Say It Isn't So | |
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| Directed by | James B. Rogers |
| Produced by | Bobby Farrelly |
| Written by | Peter Gaulke Gerry Swallow |
| Starring | Chris Klein Heather Graham Orlando Jones Sally Field |
| Release date(s) | March 12, 2001 (USA) |
| Running time | 95 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Say It Isn't So is a romantic film starring Chris Klein and Heather Graham about two young lovers who come to believe that they are actually siblings.
[edit] Plot Summary
The film begins with Gilbert Noble (Klein) taking a stray cat named "Ringo" (a possible reference to Ringo Starr) to the pound at which he works. Advised about being in need of a haircut, Gilbert goes to a hairdresser's where he meets a beautiful young hairdresser woman named Josephine Wingfield (Graham). As Josephine cuts Gilbert's hair, she mentions that she lost a tail-less cat named Ringo a while ago, leading Gilbert to tell her that Ringo is at the pound. In a hilarious scene, Josephine accidentally cuts off a part of Gilbert's ear, and he is rushed to the hospital, where they supposedly sew the severed part back on and bandage it for a while.
To make up for the incident, Josephine invites Gilbert to her house for lunch the next day, where Gilbert meets Josephine's self-centered mother Valdine (Sally Field) and stroke-suffering father Walter (Richard Jenkins). After the lunch day, Gilbert and Josephine start dating frequently, and eventually fall in love.
As the days go by, Gilbert and Josephine see each other and have sex frequently (in a deleted scene, Josephine sucks on Gilbert's toes for a moment). But just as Gilbert prepares to propose to Josephine, he receives a call from an agent who has been searching for Gilbert's long-lost mother. Apparently, the agent has come up with the news that Gilbert's mother is really Valdine Wingfield, something that shocks them all. Determined to keep the whole thing a secret, Josephine leaves the Wingfield household, and Gilbert takes her place as Valdine's son.
A few months later, a surprise comes to the Wingfield doorstep in the form of a young man named Leon Pitofsky who claims to be Valdine and Walter's son. When Leon reveals the proof (birth papers), Valdine and Walter, who gets better for a few moments, angrily lash out at Gilbert and force him to leave. Gilbert runs for his life and flees the county, but Valdine phones the police to search for Gilbert, but to keep the whole thing quiet. Unfortunately, the police prove to be just as corrupt as the criminals they capture and hang "Wanted" posters all over Gilbert's destination town, depicting Gilbert as a "sexual predator".
On his way to the town, Gilbert meets a middle-aged African-American named Dig McCaffrey (Orlando Jones), who gives him directions and hands him a phone card should he ever need him. However, Gilbert is soon spotted by people who saw the posters, and is immediately shunned by the society as a "Prevert".
Meanwhile, Josephine is engaged to a rich and powerful young man who secretly deals in cocaine and controls over half the county by paying off numerous politicians. Valdine keeps on pushing Josephine for the marriage, although Josephine still loves Gilbert deep down.
As Gilbert tries to hide from the authorities, he seeks Dig's help, who frequently manages to aid him in his escape from muggers and killers. Ultimately, after countless escapades with mental-patient Mr. Campisi (C. Ernst Harth), Gilbert finally manages to find Leon (Valdine's real son). Determined to win Josephine back, Gilbert, with Dig's help, makes a plan to change Josephine's mind before the impending wedding. But the plan backfires when Leon gets away from Dig and Gilbert gets in an awkward situation (with his hand inside a cow's ass) and Josephine sees him. Another attempt to have the message flashed across from a plane ends up in Gilbert being arrested and being sent to an asylum.
Ultimately, Gilbert is not able to stop Josephine from marrying Jack. But police arrive at the marriage scene to inform that Gilbert died in car accident, which was actually a sabotage by Leon. But unknown to everyone, Gilbert was not driving the car at the time of the accident. One of Jack's goons who had taken the car from Gilbert was the one whose ashes were found. Even better for Gilbert, Walter makes a good recovery and reveals to Josephine that it was Valdine who planned the whole thing to destroy their relationship and force Josephine into marrying the drug-dealer. Also, the news that Valdine is Gilbert's mother was fed to the detective by none other than Jack.
Seeing Josephine defy her for the very first time proves to be too much for Valdine to handle, as she has a stroke and falls unconscious while attacking Leon, who also participated in interrupting the wedding.
Thinking Gilbert to be dead, Josephine goes back to the roof of the animal shelter where they used to hang out to disperse Gilbert's ashes and to give him the one gun salute (as Gilbert used to give dogs who were about to be put to sleep). Gilbert, who has just joined back his old job, sees her and is mistaken that she wants to commit suicide. They are finally reunited on the roof of the same animal shelter which was a catylyst for them coming together.
A few months later, Gilbert and Josephine are married, with Walter, Valdine, Leon, Dig and many other people attending, this time with Walter on his feet and Valdine in a wheelchair during a stroke. Also, as a surprise wedding present, Gilbert's mother agent turns up and tells Gilbert that he has truly found his mother. In an ironic twist, Gilbert's mother turns out to be a famous actress/sex symbol about whom Gilbert used to fantasize while masturbating.
