Going to festivals and making a point of seeing first-time filmmakers is a hit or miss game. Finding a real gem from somebody who came out of nowhere is like no other feeling in movie watching. But most of the time I find myself stirring in my seat, listening to line after line of dialogue heavy on information and low on drama. Most of these films fall into a freshman sand trap of simply delivering bulky information to the audience, while relying on tricks to excite people. And when it’s time for the audience to have a revelation, it winds up being a soliloquy that ends with a deep breath and a phrase like, “I guess you’ve got to forget somebody before you can really remember them.” With the accessibility of equipment out there and the diversity of life experience, I’m surprised to see how homogenized the stories that show up at festivals can be.

Ten years ago, Ed Burns was one of these young filmmakers showing She’s the One on the festival circuit. I felt with She’s the One, Burns was way too polished. Now with The Groomsmen, he’s revisited familiar territory and smoothed out the rough edges. In both films he’s simply telling stories from what he knows