Suburban (2008)

The decision to move cross country from NYC, where Dan is a struggling artist, to his hometown of Arvada, Colorado, to create what he believes to be a more stable life for his wife and son, is not the first difficult decision Dan Gold will have to make. SUBURBAN, a poignant slice of life film combines clever humor with relevant, repeatable characters facing the daily battle between good and bad, right and wrong. The audience watches as Dan and his wife Sarah tackle the balance of parenting, love, trust and communication, all the while observing those around them coming face to face with infidelity, divorce, friends, family and, ultimately, priorities. As SUBURBAN unfolds, Dan unravels, finding himself in the middle of the very situations he has become all too familiar with observing from the sidelines - including coming to find the true meaning of MANHOOD. Through simple black and white, sketch style storyboards, Dan's subconscious manifests itself in an illustrated series he is constantly working on called "The Bleakertons." It is his escape, his dream, his alternate universe. SUBURBAN is Dan's actual story, of which he is fully conscious. This is his reality, which would be impossible to tell, without digging deeper into the important relationships he has with the other people in his life, and they with him. Dan's wife Sarah, and son Kaleb, are his strength, his heart. We learn of Sarah's best friend from college, Mimi, and her husband Jacob, an Archaeology Professor at the local university, whose one bad decision may change his life forever. Dan's brother, Joe, struggling with his marital situation, introduces Carla to the mix, along with her friend Jennifer, a young divorcée, who isn't afraid to share her thoughts on the institution of marriage. Dan's friends and other influences in his life round out the story and shine a targeted light upon the differences between dream and reality. These vivid characters come together to lead Dan to explore where life actually happens - Is it in the suburbs? Is it on a sketch pad? - and are we all on the proverbial quest to find out how big is your MANHOOD - or the real question, what really defines it?