In "The Wool Cap," William H. Macy once again proves that he is one of the best and most underrated actors working today. He creates a distinct personality, and has great chemistry with other characters, without ever saying a word. Keke Palmer is also one of the best child actors I've seen in a long time, and gives an award-worthy performance. Their unlikely friendship makes for a funny, sad and bittersweet movie. It's a bit slow, but it's entertaining the whole way through. And the soft, jazzy soundtrack sets the mood perfectly. Steven Schachter is obviously a talented director, and it would be nice to see him do something for the big screen. If he keeps making movies like this, it's bound to happen at some point.
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Chromium_514 December 2005
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luludavis27 November 2004Macy and his partner, Steven Schachter are rolling sevens. They are making the sappy "Johnson and Johnson presents" genre hip. Usually these presentation
are a bunch syrupy-sweet, message-laden, no talent crap but now things have
changed. I kind of wished that the promos had not let on that Macy's character was mute. It would have been even more interesting to wonder why this guy
never spoke instead of being told ahead of time. Keke Palmer proved that child actor don't have to be annoying and Don Rickles and Catherine O'Hara were
awesome in there smallish parts. Ms. O'Hara was excellent in a serious role that had many layers and hardly any time to show all of them. She added the sexy- mature female element the Kathy Baker showed in Macy's other project, Door to Door. Rickles was actually funny without being offensive. Rickles has stood the test of time. William H. Macy is sincere, likable and emotionally and morally complex. Ned Beatty, in the role of Macy's dad, is a solid, consistent actor who never fails to be "real". you can see him in another awesome role in the film, Spring Froward. -
ghosts_can_be_moody26 November 2004If you have a chance to watch "The Wool Cap" sometime this holiday season, you're in for a treat! The movie tells the sweet story of a superintendent in a run-down apartment building (William H. Macy)named Gigot, who can't speak due to a car accident some years ago and always wears a battered wool cap. He lives in the basement of the building with his pet monkey, and seems pretty lonely. Of all the people in the building he interacts with on a daily basis, it appears only one of them (Don Rickles) is actually his friend.
Then, a few days after Christmas, everything changes. A druggie tenant is in trouble with some rough people and has to go to Philadelphia as soon as possible. She and her boyfriend leave her daughter, Lou (Keke Palmer), who is about 12 years old and very talkative, in a reluctant Gigot's care for the night. However, things keep coming up and Lou ends up staying with him for much longer.
The sweetness in "The Wool Cap" comes from the relationship between the two characters. Lou brings out the warmth in Gigot, and you find out things about his past that you wouldn't expect. The acting here is all spectacular, William H. Macy conveys all his emotions pitch perfectly without saying a word, and newcomer Keke Palmer is very endearing as Lou. This is a great Christmas movie that will definitely put a smile on your face. -
babbiiebobbie28 November 2005I am 12 years old. I cried my little eyes out watching this movie. Most girls love the dramatic movies. Girls and guys will enjoy watching this movie. There is a lot of scenes that you will want to cry really hard about. Just let it out. It's great to express yourself. See there is this mute man, and he doesn't have any friends but his pet monkey. And this monkey is his bffl (best friend for life). The man always wears this wool cap. What does it mean? Where does it come from? Find out yourself and watch the movie! Well anyways he gets stuck watching this young girl. Does he have fun, or hate life with the little girl? Find out yourself and watch the movie! Everyone will enjoy it, and it's okaie to cry. It shows that you are ACTUALLY watching the movie. So what are you going to do when you finish reading my summary? Hmm? Here is a suggestion, WATCH THE MOVIE!
PS: Get some tissues first. -
bobojiggler6 September 2009This movie is the best movie that I have seen this year. The characters are very likable and it's great how Gigot was able to take care of Lou at the end when her mom died. I don't see why people wanted Gigot to get rid of his monkey. The monkey was awesome. It's sad that those two dick heads poisoned him. I think that this would have done well in theaters (the award nominations show that especially). Directors have to have more faith in their films. I've seen many direct to video movies and TV movies that I think would have done well in theaters. When I checked the DVD out from the library, I thought that I would like it, but I didn't know that I would like it enough to be the best movie that I have seen this year.
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missmarmite14 May 2005I heard or read about this film in November last year, then again during some awards show (Emmys?) on TV late in the night where they also showed a clip. And then nothing for the next months. Now suddenly it's out on DVD, and the moment I read that I went to the next shop and bought the disc. You know, when you have that combination, Macy and Schachter, there is no need to hesitate. Just buy and watch. You know it will be excellent.
And so it was. I spent a delightful late afternoon with Gigot, Lou, Grace (I wonder, if both the monkey and particularly the name were already in the story they adapted the film from...) and the others and was just a bit disappointed, when five minutes to the end the atmosphere suddenly became a bit too sickly-sweet. Up to then everything had been exactly as I had thought it to be: full of true emotions, real life characters and wonderful performances by outstanding actors. This should be a play as well, it could become a hit with small theatre ensembles.
Should somebody read this to find help in deciding whether to watch a film with Macy or not, decide for "yes". And then afterwards watch Door to Door and Slight Case of Murder and you can't make a mistake. They are Macy's best in my opinion (adding Fargo here, too).
And, Mr Macy and Mr Schachter, please sit yourself down to scribble the next co-production of yours, I simply can't wait to watch that one, too. It will be good. I know. -
iamnotjimmy6 September 2006So, over all I have to say that I liked this movie. It was a little schmaltzy, but good enough... Until I got to the last ten minutes, where the director essentially said "Uh-oh, I'm almost out of time, Ted Turner's going to kill me. I'd better wrap it up," before summoning the almighty Deus Ex Machina to finish it for him. My honest suggestion? Watch right up until you see a set of doors open, turn off the movie and write your own ending--it'll undoubtedly be less insulting to your intelligence.
As for the rest of the movie? Superb. No, I mean it, I scathe the ending, but I really loved the rest of it. Without the last ten minutes, go ahead and double the score I gave it above. William H. Macy does a brilliant job of conveying every emotion without saying a word. Don Rickles is, well... Don Rickles. Enough said. I bought this movie on the strength that it had both of them, and I was definitely not disappointed in the job they did. Keke Palmer will grow up to be a big name. I'm as certain of that as I am that the ending was the worst ending to a movie I've seen since Blood Work, but that's neither here nor there. -
TxMike22 November 2004William Macy continues to show us why he is one of the very best actors working today. One may not necessarily like all his movies, but Macy never fails to create a memorable role. Here is is simply "Gigot", the building "super", lives in a very messy and primitive basement apartment. And is mute. He does his job, and is very good at it, but seldom smiles. We get the feeling that he is not very happy inside, his only friend the cute pet monkey "Grace" that he carries around in a vented bowling bag. A little girl named 'Lou' (Keke Palmer) becomes a thorn in his side. The story is set during the December/January holiday times, and was filmed in Montreal. The characters move among Philadelphia, Chicago, and St Louis, sometimes by bus and sometimes by plane, but it is never clear where it is set. A superb story of friendship, family, and redemption. Highly recommended.
SPOILERS are contained in the rest of my comments. As the story unfolds we find that Gigot, a decorated war veteran, was in a car wreck in St Louis in 1976 which killed his younger sister, and left him without a voice box. After that he became estranged from his family for 28 years, didn't even know his mother had died, he had such guilt. The wool cap he wore always had been his sister's, and one day at an amusement park panicked when the cap was missing after a roller coaster ride, and he managed to find it. His wearing the cap was symbolic of never having forgiven himself, when he finally did after a visit to a church decorating for Christmas, finally threw the cap away. Lou gets abandoned by her mother, and crashes in Gigot's place. They go to Philly to find her, mom is doing drugs, Gigot doesn't tell Lou, they go back home, later they find she died of overdose. Lou is smart and sassy, but has a bad habit of petty theft. She gets into a detention center, while Gigot is trying to find a way to become her foster dad. He is a felon, seeks help of dad and stepmother in St Louis, dad is angry, later relents as stepmom helps, the movie should have ended when Gigot and Lou were facing each other through the detention center fence, snowing, he said using sign language that he wanted to be her dad. It actually ended with one more scene, a year later, Gigot was working for his dad in building supply, happy and successful, picks up Lou after school for Christmas holidays. Ned Beatty plays got's father and Don Rickles plays the helpful neighbor in Gigot's building. -
Spike-6510 February 2006Not many films make me cry more than once, but this one certainly cleared out my sinuses and was well worth a sob or two. A lovely wee story and some very good acting from the leads, especially William Macy. It makes a change to see a decent film with a REAL storyline and although the Johnson & Johnson tag at the beginning made me wonder if I'd made a bad choice I found the start of the film was as good as the end. While it had the usual 'happy' ending, it was an ending you really hoped it would be. There is a place for films like this, when everything else we see is sensationalised, computerised and overdone to the max. I want to see more of this style of work, as my time spent in places like St. Louis and Chicago show this world does exist, despite the glitz and charade of places like Hollywood. Congratulations for a job well done.
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As you might have guessed, I am probably William Macy's biggest fan and he's soon to be the next actor of which I'll have rated 50 movies with him because he has mostly played supporting roles with other known actors and actresses. But even in the rare instances where he is the lead, he shines because of his charisma and likeable appearence. And when I saw this, I was left speechless by his performance alone.
Charles Gigot (Macy) is a deaf and mute owner of a ramshackle building that lives alone with his pet monkey that carries everywhere even tho in some places like bars he ends up being shooed away because of his pet. One day he meets Lou (Keke Palmer), a young girl that lives with her mother Arlene and her boyfriend: one night Gigot notices two thugs looking for the couple and without knowing it he causes a diversion that allows the couple to escape and Arlene leaves Lou to Gigot's care for unspecified time because of the issues. At first Gigot and Lou can't stand each other because of their attitudes. After a while Gigot looks for Arlene and after finding her house he finds out that she is a crack addict, and things get more complicated when he is robbed and has to perform a sideshow with the monkey and Lou for having money for the bus tickets. After all this events, Gigot and Lou will finally bond like a father-daugher and Gigot will not only stop drinking but help Lou in her education after finding out that she is illiterate. But one day, Social Services reclaim Lou because Arlene has died of an overdose and Gigot becomes desperate and tries every solution for helping Lou: making a marriage proposal to his friend Gloria (Catherine O'Hara) but it's refused, visiting his parents that he hasn't seen in 28 years only to find that his mother died and his father (Ned Beatty) remarried and he resents him, On Christmas day Gigot tries to make it fresh throwing his wool cap in the river, and when he goes in a church he starts crying only to return in his apartment and finding his father and stepmother waiting for him at his apartment, and father and son embrace and accept to restart their relationship. Gigot then finds Lou in juvenile hall and makes it clear to adopt her. The movie then moves a year later with Gigot that works in his father's business and picks Lou from school where she has become excellent: the two drive off together laughing, happy to have finally found peace.
The main reason for watching this is simply Macy's performance. Yes, he can't talk but you can really see that he put body and soul for playing such a character: and you as the viewer will feel his emotions and pain. Keke Palmer is great too proving that is not necessary for a child actor to be annoying, and the monkey gave great support (too bad they had to kill her, but it often happens to animal characters in movies). And there were so many sad moments that when Gigot and Lou reunited I felt uplifted and ready to cry from joy.
So, if you stumble upon it don't miss it for all the aforementioned reasons but I must warn you that some Kleenex are needed especially towards the end. -
archervixen4 November 2023I first watched this many years ago and the story just warmed my heart. It's the story of a good man with a traumatic past working as a superintendent who also happens to be hearing impaired. The tenants in his building all seem to know one other and create this urban, functional and dysfunctional community family. He's just going about his business repairing the building and tenant apartments when he comes across a latchkey girl left on her own. That's where it begins and I don't want to completely spoil the movie for anyone. I fell in love with this movie because it is truly a heartwarming story that involves adoption, overcoming disability, friendship, good parenting, reuniting families, restoring love, shenanigans, monkeys, etc... Two people who don't realize they need each other choose to become a beautiful family. And the prodigal son returns home.
I have it on DVD but can't find it and I'm honestly shocked as to the fact that it isn't available on streaming services, nor for purchase. I beg the filmmakers; can you please stream? I love watching this annually or biannually. Well done!
And yes, I do consider this a Christmas movie as well.