Sweethearts 1996 (Full Length Version)

The following is the full-length version of my all-time favorite Janeane Garofalo film "Sweethearts" (which she also produced). To me, this is the best, and the most underrated, film she ever did. It could also possibly be one of the most underrated, and over-looked, movies of the 1990's.

To me, Janeane Garofalo deserved at least ONE award for her portrayal of a 31-year-old suicidal woman, suffering from “Bi-Polar Disorder” and “Manic Depression”.

I am very disappointed that there isn't at least one interview of Janeane Garofalo talking about this movie. Perhaps, it was possibly because the film was so over-looked by the media and the critics alike. The film was not given proper advertisement: from the trailers, to even the VHS and DVD covers. This caused the film to suffer even more in its underrated status.

If I had a chance to meet Janeane Garofalo, I would immediately ask her about this film. Hopefully, whoever watches this film, and reads this introductory comment: if they do have the chance to speak to her in a recorded interview, hopefully they will ask her about this film FOR me. Please do the same if you were to ever meet Margaret Cho and Bobcat Goldthwait. That would be very much appreciated.

Speaking of Margaret Cho, she was in this film as well. Her character in this movie was one of my favorite characters that she has ever portrayed in her entire film career.

Besides her performance in the extremely powerful movie “It’s My Party” (which I HIGHLY recommend), not one time have I ever heard Margaret Cho talk about this film either.

Besides Janeane Garofalo and Margaret Cho, the rest of the cast - Mitch Rouse from the movie “Rudy”, and comedian/actor/filmmaker Bobcat Goldthwait - are also in this film. They, too, are my favorite characters that I have ever seen of them in a movie.

Even if 3 out of 4 of the actors were mostly stand-up comedians (with the exception of Mitch Rouse), everyone put their best efforts in this dominantly-dramatic film.

Besides the beautiful cinematography, the film also has a great soundtrack and score that suit the film so well from beginning to end. Unfortunately, there was no soundtrack made for distribution.

Personally, this film is very relatable, because I, myself, battle with Clinical Depression, Chronic Anxiety, and Bi-Polar Disorder. I’ve had Depression since I was 12 years old. I was diagnosed at that age after my first suicide attempt. A few years later, I was diagnosed with Bi-Polar Disorder, followed by Chronic Anxiety.

A few years ago, I used to be a patient at an “Adult Psychiatric Day Clinic” to help me with my illnesses. Me, along with the rest of the out-patients, attended there for the same reason.

One day, I made a request to the staff members for this film to be shown in "Cinema Therapy" - as I thought it would be very helpful to share this film with the rest of the patients. Unfortunately, because of the large backlog of films that were pending for “Cinema Therapy”, this film was not able to be seen.

Instead, I loaned out my DVD copy of this movie to some of the patients who had it so much worse than me, who never had the chance to see the film in "Cinema Therapy", as much as they wanted to.

After watching the film, as soon as they gave the DVD back to me, every one of them immediately told me how much they absolutely loved it. They most definitely praised Janeane Garofalo's performance.

Well, without further ado, here is the film. :)))

I just want to give a side-note, that this film, unfortunately, has never seen a Blu-Ray release. It is only on VHS and DVD, and is rarely, if not ever, shown on television (I’m not sure if this film was released on Laserdisc).

The only DVD copy that was made here in the United States was not put together like most of the common films on DVD and Blu-Ray. This is in regards to the widescreen resolution. I own the DVD copy of this movie, and it is presented in 85mm widescreen. However, the bad news is that this IS the kind of widescreen edition that does not fill a 16x9 screen. Because of the demand for this film to be seen in its entirety, and because there is absolutely no full-version of this movie (and rarely any clips) on Youtube, I decided to take on the responsibility, and the risk, by ripping my DVD copy into wmv format, so that I can upload it on my channel for all of you.

In the process, through very careful calculation (which took a lot of time – very much worth the effort), I tried to expand the widescreen, so that it could fit the 16x9 screens. Unfortunately, due to the limited technology that I have in my possession, mixed with my lack of knowledge of this kind of procedure, as a result of trying to expand the film to a 16x9 screen (which was a success), the quality of the playback was very very poor. I tried every setting there was to fix the problem - but to no avail. Instead, I decided to rip the DVD again, leaving the widescreen exactly the way it is presented on DVD - for the sake of quality. Hopefully, this DVD widescreen format that is shown in this video will be bearable to all of you.

I would like to thank Mr. David Larrabee (The Garofaholic), for helping me with the private test-screening, to make sure that this ripped copy was in perfect picture - and sound-quality - condition for all of you.

I want to thank Janeane Garofalo, Maragret Cho, Mitch Rouse, Bobcat Goldthwait, along with the rest of the cast and crew, for making this film – especially in compliment to the people of the psychiatric community.

Even if Janeane Garofalo's character is suicidal, and made the choices that she made to cope with her illnesses: this film does not encourage suicide in any way, shape, or form. It is an anti-suicidal film, with a mixture of educating Mitch Rouse’s character, and hopefully, the audience.

Just to warn you: there are some scenes of sexual humor (which I honestly found hilarious); however, regarding the important, and unavoidable, topic of suicide and mental illness, I would rather not put this film under “age restriction” for the COPPA Law. As a result, if children under the age of 13 watch this film, please watch this movie with adult companionship, so it can be talked about afterwards as a form of discussion.

I would like to humbly ask Janeane Garofalo, the filmmakers, and the copyright owners, to please allow this very important film to be showcased for everyone here, and to please not shut it down.

You can take the monetized assets for this upload (if it DOES get to that point). Money, to me, is not the motivation for this upload (that along with ALL the uploads on this channel). Also, please consider making not only another DVD edition of this film, with special features and an appropriate widescreen format, but please also give this film a Blu-Ray release.

In the meantime, if you want to purchase this film, you can start with "Amazon" and “e-Bay”.

For all the first-timers: this film is not entirely serious. It is a fun, funny, and cathartic escape – at least I thought so. I do hope that all of you enjoy this very special film. :)))

With Love and Respect,
Scott :)))