Walking to the Waterline (1999)

Genres - Drama  |   Run Time - 90 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
  • AllMovie Rating
    5
  • User Ratings (0)
  • Your Rating

Share on

Synopsis by Josh Ralske

Sitcom actor Matt Mulhern, best known for his recurring role on Major Dad, wrote, directed, and stars in Walking to the Waterline. In the film, which is apparently at least partially autobiographical, Mulhern plays Francis McGowan, a struggling actor who once appeared on a successful sitcom. In the wake of his father's death, Francis returns to his childhood home on the Jersey shore to deal with his father's belongings and sell the house in which he grew up. Once there, however, he falls into a kind of nostalgic stupor. His wife (played by Mulhern's wife, Karen Mulhern), alone with their two kids, repeatedly calls and urges him to hurry home. Francis makes a few calls to his agent (a cameo by Matthew Broderick), who's avoiding him. Duane (Alan Ruck), a childhood acquaintance who seems overly impressed with Francis' small degree of fame, stops by uninvited. Francis tries to avoid him. One day, while out strolling on the beach, Francis meets Lucy (Hallie Foote), a tour guide who shows him around the inside of a gigantic circus elephant statue, also named Lucy. Bored and unable to deal with the emotional demands of his family life, past and present, Francis has an affair with Lucy. Not the elephant, the tour guide. In addition to Mulhern, the cast includes Major Dad vets Jon Cypher and Beverly Archer, along with Ruck and Michael Boatman, who both starred on Spin City. Hal Holbrook also has a cameo.