Escanaba in da Moonlight

Escanaba in da Moonlight

Film poster
Directed by Jeff Daniels
Produced by Robert L. Brown
Tom Spiroff
Written by Jeff Daniels
Guy Sanville
Starring Jeff Daniels
Harve Presnell
Music by Alto Reed
Release dates
January 26, 2001
Running time
91 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Escanaba in da Moonlight ("da" is Yooper for "the") is a 2001 movie starring Jeff Daniels. It is a comedy about hunting and hunting traditions and is set (and filmed) in the Escanaba, Michigan area. The movie is the film adaptation of the play of the same name, which premiered at Jeff Daniels' Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea, Michigan.

Plot

Reuben Soady (Daniels) goes to the hunting camp cottage, otherwise known as deer camp, with his father Albert (played by Harve Presnell), brother Remnar (Joey Albright) and Jimmy "the Jimmer" Negamanee from Menominee (Wayne David Parker). If Reuben, now 43, doesn't manage to shoot a buck by the end of the season, he will become the oldest Soady in recorded history not to have achieved this task, a taboo that leads people in the community to believe he is jinxed.

Reuben breaks with tradition, taking advice from his Native American wife Wolf Moon Dance (Kimberly Norris), who offers him spiritual remedies involving a drink made with moose testicles and scenting himself with porcupine urine to protect him from evil spirits and attract his prey to him. After various unexplainable phenomena, they meet a DNR officer, Tom T. Treado (Randall Godwin), who claims to have literally seen God on the ridge.

At various times, Reuben, Jimmer, and ranger Tom all get possessed by spirits. Eventually, Reuben runs out into the cold wearing only his long underwear and a hat, and finds himself face-to-face with his dead great-grandfather Alphonse, who guides him to shooting a buck sent for him by the spirits. Reuben returns triumphantly.

Yooper/Michigan Culture

A significant portion of the movie involves references to elements of "Yooper" (slang reference to residents of the U.P. or Upper Peninsula of Michigan) and broader Michigan culture. Some references are obscure to viewers unfamiliar with this culture and might be considered in-jokes.

Some examples include:

See also

External links

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