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Paul Rudd, Lauren Ambrose, Ron Eldard, Josh Hamilton, Sarah Paulson ... see more see more... , Ken Marino , Maura Tierney

A coming-of-age story about four working-class friends growing up in Long Island, New York, as clam diggers. Their fathers were clam diggers as well as their grandfathers before them.

Flixster Users

53% liked it

5,463 ratings

Critics

70% liked it

57 critics

R, 16 min.

Directed by: Katherine Dieckmann

Release Date: April 14, 2007

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DVD Release Date: May 1, 2007

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Flixster Reviews (358)

  • LWOODS04
    November 11, 2010
    LWOODS04
    Cast: Paul Rudd, Maura Tierney, Lauren Ambrose, Ron Eldard, Josh Hamilton, Ken Marino, Sarah Paulson

    Director: Katherine Dieckmann

    Summary: A coming-of-age story about a group of friends who reluctantly follow in their families' footsteps and face what they deem a bleak ex... read moreistence as clam diggers on Long Island. Directed by Katherine Dieckmann, this touching dramedy follows the companions as they struggle to cope with their predestined futures while dreaming of better lives.

    My Thoughts: "Talented cast, great acting, and a good script, makes this Indie film one to see. The story is about friendship, family, and change. The film has relatively and likeable character's. It's also funny, but at times a bit slow. But I enjoyed the characters. I found them to be realistic and full of heart. In this film Paul Rudd plays a more serious role, and it was a nice change from all his more comedic roles. I thought he was great. I also thought Ken Marino gave a great performance as well. I thought it was a great Indie flick."
  • Julie
    August 2, 2010
    Julie
    Solid performances all around in this hidden gem.
  • Godless
    November 28, 2008
    Godless
    A little slow paced but an overall decent movie.
  • tsigur
    July 29, 2007
    tsigur
    Paul Rudd....slummin'.
  • dunmyer
    July 21, 2007
    dunmyer
    [size=3]I would describe "Diggers" as a good first installment in a television mini-series. Its subject is lower-middle-class clam diggers on eastern Long Island in the mid-1970s.[/size]

    [img]http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Art/ENTERTAINMENT/Projects/07_SpringMovie... read moreGuide/springmovies07_diggers.hmedium.jpg[/img]

    [size=3]There's a lot of charming, superficial nostalgia, such as the distinctive cars, clothes and hairstyles of 1976 America. And of course there are many scenes involving marijuana. [/size]

    [size=3]Just in case anyone isn't really sure of the era, in the background there are several TV sets showing footage from the presidential race that Jimmy Carter won. Neither screenwriter [b]Ken Marino[/b] nor director [b]Katherine Dieckmann[/b] has anything to say about that election. The TV footage is just part of the set decoration, like the vintage cars. [/size]

    [img]http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/dayart/movies/58580/58580_aa.jpg[/img]

    [size=3]I'm surprised that TV shows from the era aren't shown in the background; that would fit well with Dieckmann's style of directing. She seems to love superficial pop culture. I'm sure she was dying to show "Starsky & Hutch" in the background but just didn't have the budget for licensing fees. I'm sure she begged the producers for more money for pop-culture licensing. She should have begged to have a second writer enrich the superficial script that Ken Marino delivered.[/size]

    [size=3]The script is overflowing with material ripe for development, but at every turn the director avoids opportunities for enrichment. The main character, played by [b]Paul Rudd[/b], has no college and no prospects for getting out of the increasingly impoverished life of the clam digger. But he starts developing an interest in photography. I love it when working-class characters develop an artistic interest. But it's rarely explored with any depth. No scenes where he's wrestling with this interest that sets him apart from his lower-class peers. No scenes where he's learning about photography or responding to the artwork of others or really having an artistic feeling of any kind.[/size]

    [size=3]All Marino and Dieckmann give us are brief shots of him taking photographs. Any photographer would spend a considerable amount of time composing a shot. Instead this guy is shown just pointing and shooting. I wanted to get into his head and his heart. But every time he did something interesting, the director would cut away to a shot of someone smoking pot or showing off cool sideburns.[/size]

    [size=3]This screenwriter and director want to keep us at a safe distance from their characters. You don't really get to know anyone, and thus you don't really care about any of them. [/size][size=3]"Diggers" could have been a very significant film. But it didn't have the right creative team. It's a shame.[/size]

    [img]http://www.worstpreviews.com/images/diggers.jpg[/img]
  • gator681
    May 16, 2007
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]In "Diggers", as independent clam diggers on Long Island are being pushed out by the South Shell corporation in 1976, an old clam digger dies of a heart attack while at work on the Great South Bay. His son, Hunt(Paul Rudd), also an amateur photographer, is p... read morelagued by guilt over sleeping late that morning. Hunt's sister, Gina(Maura Tierney), works as a short order cook while starting to explore her sexuality after her divorce.(I don't understand how somebody can cook and read "The Hite Report" at the same time.) One of their friends, Lozo(Ken Marino, who also wrote the screenplay), is especially hard hit, since he has a family to feed.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]"Diggers" is a gentle and occasionally amusing slice-of-life movie about a disappearing way of life that is neither maudlin nor nostalgiac.(Even though I've lived on the south shore of Long Island for most of my life, I don't feel particularly connected to these characters since most of the fathers I knew growing up either worked at Grumman or in New York City.) It is unusual to see a group of men in their thirties that have for the most part not settled down yet, especially in this time and place, and they do seem to be suffering from a collective case of arrested development. Of all the storylines, Lozo's is the most compelling as he has a family to support and the one with the most at stake. Hunt is rather cliched in that he had a father he feels did not understand him but his photographs do serve a purpose. [/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]The movie gets a lot of period details right but others are off. The sexual revolution is alluded to but did people smoke more thirty years ago than they do now? Much is made of the 1976 Presidential election but did that change much outside of the benefit of getting Kissinger out of office?(Probably not what the filmmakers meant.) And there is nothing about the Yankees who were on their way to win their first pennant in 12 years.(Maybe all the characters are Mets fans?) But I can certainly understand how at least one of the characters has never been to New York City.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]Speaking of the end of an era, Paul Rudd and Ken Marino were both guest stars on last week's episode of "Veronica Mars." [/font]
  • wbgoose13
    September 20, 2007
    wbgoose13
    Who knew a comedic bunch had a decent coming-of-age drama in them?
  • danieljparsons
    May 2, 2007
    danieljparsons
    First off - what a fantastic and nicely offbeat cast. Paul Rudd (The 40 Year Old Virgin, The Object Of My Affection), Maura Tierney (ER, Scotland, PA), Ron Eldard (Ghost Ship), Josh Hamilton (Kicking & Screaming), Sarah Paulson (Studio... read more 60 On The Sunset Strip) Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under, Swimming) and Ken Marino (Veronica Mars) - who also wrote the script. They make up a fantastic ensemble and do brilliant work here.

    Back to the actual film then. Set in the 1970s in Long Island, New York, Diggers is about a tight-knit group of friends who all make a living as clam diggers, a business which has been passed down the generations. Their livelihoods are under threat however, from an intruding corporation who are privatising the waters in a bid to eliminate all competition. Amid all this, Hunt (Paul Rudd) has to deal with the loss of his father and take care of his sister (Maura Tierney), as well as pursue a flirtation with a vacationing city girl (Lauren Ambrose). His friends' lives are also starting to unravel, and together they start to consider the possibility of new directions in their lives.

    This is a fantastic, nicely photographed and funny drama, well written with a concentration firmly on character. The 1970s setting is very effectively evocated with details in look and atmosphere as apposed to relying on a retro soundtrack.

    It's a shame that the female characters aren't quite as well drawn as the men (Lauren Ambrose's character is especially underdeveloped, which is a pity as her performance is great and she has nice chemistry with Paul Rudd), but this is really the only criticism I could find. Simple the story may be, but it's well told, acted, directed and quietly moving.
  • fb1413120010
    January 13, 2012
    fb1413120010
    This tries to be a dramatic comedy, but it doesn't really work as a drama or comedy. It's neither funny nor dramatic enough to be effective. Ken Marino is really the lone bright spot here.
  • bmcirillo
    June 23, 2009
    bmcirillo
    Considering I'm in love with all of the main actors, it seems crazy that I hadn't heard of this movie until randomly coming across it, but overall it was just sort of mediocre. I would say all of the high points come from Lauren Ambrose and a highly drug-influenced josh hamilton-... read more-they both definitely made watching the movie a treat.

View All Diggers Reviews

Critic Reviews

Carrie Rickey
August 4, 2007
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer

Fresh as today's catch and about as tasty. Full Review

Richard Roeper
April 30, 2007
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

I can't recommend this movie enough.

Jonathan Rosenbaum
April 30, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

Smart and sensitive. Full Review

Ruthe Stein
April 27, 2007
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle

[Director] Dieckmann fails to stage scenes in a compelling manner. Diggers bumps along from trauma to trauma like a clam-digging boat on choppy waters. Full Review

Lou Lumenick
April 27, 2007
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

A modestly charming film. Full Review

Elizabeth Weitzman
April 27, 2007
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

What separates Diggers from its kin -- notably the Ed Burns movies -- is the testosterone balance of its masculine script and Dieckmann's sensitive direction. Maybe we need more buddy movies by women. Full Review

Kevin Crust
April 27, 2007
Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times

Diggers has the conviction to avoid tying things up with a bow and allows us the privilege to imagine where its denizens will go afterward. Full Review

Robert Denerstein
April 27, 2007
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News

Clam diggers don't venture into the deepest waters, and neither, for the most part, does the movie. [It] serves up any number of slight moves, the kind associated with films that keep their gazes narr...

Michael Booth
April 27, 2007
Michael Booth, Denver Post

I was rooting for the 'Diggers' clan by the time this modest film ended. A talented cast of likable actors can do that for a thin script, and Paul Rudd, Ken Marino, Maura Tierney and Ron Eldard eventu... Full Review

Paige Wiser
April 27, 2007
Paige Wiser, Chicago Sun-Times

The prospect of change is complicated, but Diggers is also a reminder of the powerful simplicity of friendship. Full Review

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