Sherman's Way

Directed By: Craig Saavedra

There are many different types of journeys.  A journey can be an excursion from one location to another.  It can also be the rites of passage of life from youth to wisdom and maturity, including everything between.  Yet another can be a journey of the soul.  

Sherman's Way is a tale of a rigid, uptight, young man whose girlfriend dumps him because of his lack of spontaneity.  He quickly decides to travel to California's Wine Country to win her back, only to find out that she's already moved on.  Humiliated, he hitches a ride with an outlandish stranger named Palmer, a once talented Olympic athlete who lives life by his own rules.

Ready to move onward, Sherman sets his sights on getting to Beverly Hills in time to land an internship at a prestigious law firm. Slowly but surely however, Palmer's zest for life begins to rub off on him, and he is also intrigued by two other individuals,  a charismatic, free-spirited girl and a gourmet chef who carries a gun and is not afraid to use it. 

For the first time, Sherman is actually quenching an inner thirst for an exuberant existence he didn't know he had.  With help from his new friends, he realizes that living in the moment is the best way to live life and often simple pleasures fill a person's heart and spirit with much more valuable things than wealth and a corner office.  As Sherman and Palmer create an unusual bond, Palmer explains his purpose in taking the road trip and audiences are left to wonder if Sherman's transformation will make him once again rethink his destination.

With so many dynamic layers, this film is filled with authentic, heartfelt writing, characters, and performances.  Sherman's Way is truly a triumphant expedition that proves strangers can appear to be different but then discover they are actually quite similar.  They can even find the road to laughter, friendship and ultimately help each other dig up the true core of their souls.

Linda Overly