Quite frequently you’ll find us commenting on the quick turn around time between a movie’s run in theaters and appearance on DVD. Well, here’s a different situation than the typical short, few months. Diggers is appearing in theaters on April 27th and following on DVD the next week: May 1st. How’s that for a tight turn around time?

We’re not criticizing the film because that short time is obviously strategical and not caused by the movie’s performance like so many other turn arounds. In fact, Diggers was one of the highlights of the recent South by South West film festival.

If you missed our SXSW coverage, here’s how Head Honcho, Josh Tyler described the Paul Rudd movie:

Diggers is a smart, and warm 70’s period drama about blue collar working joe’s in a small town. Paul Rudd stars as Hunt, a clamdigger. Clamdigging is a vanishing profession, as small time independent operators are driven out of business by big corporations. But the film doesn’t get caught up in big money bashing. It stays intimate, zeroed on Hunt’s personal struggle after the death of his father and on the problems of his family and friends. Maura Tierney co-stars as his sister Gina, while Marino, Ron Eldard, Django Gilligan, and Josh Hamilton play his struggling clamdigger buddies.

For me, what makes this movie so refreshing is that it’s about normal people. Filmmakers often get so caught up in telling the stories of artists, writers, and the filmmaking process that they forget about what’s it’s like for the average guy out there scrounging to make a living. Those that do attempt usually get it wrong. Diggers gets it right, and presents a realistic and earnest portrayal of dudes doing what dudes do: Getting up, getting by, and doing it again tomorrow.

Perhaps even more importantly, the movie manages to be entertaining while still engaging in an awful lot of soul searching. A lot of the credit for that has to go to Rudd. He’s naturally charming, and whether doing comedy or drama he ends up being the kind of guy it’s easy to latch onto Marino’s script is good too, an authentic feeling portrayal of life as a Long Island clamdigger but mixed with a wry and charming sensibility. Diggers is a cozy, smart little movie that dodges the pitfalls of getting to schmaltzy while remaining heartfelt and focused.

The Diggers DVD will carry some bonus materials: outtakes/deleted scenes, an episode of HDNet’s “Higher Definition” that focuses on the film, a featurette about Long Island clam diggers, and an audio commentary with the movie’s director and writer.

Look for Diggers in theaters on April 27th and on DVD May 1st.

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