With sudden passing of his grandmother, Peter Latang returns to his hometown and encounters his long lost, childhood friend, Donald Treebeck. What begins as a simple favor, turns into a long day's journey into the past.
It's all absurd and enjoyable, and yet to spend one minute in his Donald's company is to realize something is wrong with him. This is not someone who can function in the world - and that's not funny.
Donald Cried is free of "nice guy" characters and never relies on raunchy humor, the exclusions of which give the movie a greater sense of verisimilitude.
"Donald Cried" succeeds on its own modest terms, but watching its title character can be painful. This is not a movie for people who'd just as soon forget their own teenage mortifications.
...you have to admire Avedisian for pushing his repulsive character beyond the limits of social acceptance (as far as Peter is concerned), and for directing such a focused drama as a first feature.
The movie forcefully reminds you that the past you thought you had left behind still hurts, and that the old wounds you imagined had healed have simply been covered over.
Donald Cried employs that darkly comedic, funny but almost unwatchable sensibility that is slowly becoming... the dominant vocabulary of modern funniness -- but its sharp realism makes it a unique chunk of low-budget gold.
