Posted: 01/21/2003

The Newcomers

(1999)

by Yasmin Hunt

No doubt this film is getting some notice thanks to Ms. Bosworth. However, that doesn’t mean is isn’t warranted.

MTI, a leading independent home entertainment studio will release Artist View Family’s film The Newcomers, on VHS and DVD February 4, 2003. The Newcomers, starring Jeff Fahey, (Wyatt Earp, TV’s Wolf Lake), Kate Bosworth (Blue Crush, Remember the Titans), Matt McCoy (L.A. Confidential, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle), and Chris McCoy is a sweet family drama dealing with various social and family issues mainly dealing with acceptance and the power of friendships and family.

When twelve-year old Sam Docherty (Chris McCoy) witnesses a bully stealing school computers, he chooses to report the crime despite the danger to himself. As most bullies would do, McCoy is attacked after testifying against the bully and his family decides to move to a small town where they can start fresh, get away from the city life, and “really live” as opposed to living paycheck to paycheck…something the majority of us can relate to at some point in our lives.

However, the Docherty’s “real living” is undermined by their new neighbors. The job Sam’s father was promised is suddenly unavailable and the local boys decide poor Sam is better off as an enemy rather than a friend. Their peers ostracize both Sam and his father. Life is looking grim for the McCoy family.

But in small town Nowhere, roles are reversed when a joke the local misfits attempt to play on Sam backfires forcing Sam into a serious situation where his sole decision will affect the lives of Sam, his family and everyone around him.

Written by Garrett Clancy (Scooter Kidz, Raven’s Ridge) and Tony Jiti Gill (Murder In Law), directed by James Allen Bradley (Radical Jack) Tony Jiti Gill, and produced by Peter Beckwith (Frozen Impact), David Giancola (Peril), and David Peters (Flood Zone), The Newcomers proves to be not only entertaining but an education in life lessons as well.

MTI Home Video, a full service independent motion picture studio distributing feature films to the domestic marketplace, was established in 1984 at the height of the fitness video craze. MTI has released more than sixty feature films on VHS and DVD in 2001 alone along with its partners Artist View Entertainment, Bedford Entertainment, Delta Entertainment, Fangoria Presents and Redrum Entertainment.

The Newcomers DVD is priced at $19.95 SRP and the VHS is priced for rental at $34.95 SRP. The VHS will be available in both English with Spanish Subtitles. Special DVD features include Trivia Game, Scene Selection, Interactive Menus, Cast Biographies, Trailers, and Optional Spanish Subtitles. The Newcomers is to be released on February 4th. For more information, please visit www.mtivideo.com.

Yasmin Hunt is a freelance writer living on the East Coast who dreams of living on the West Coast.

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