Review: A Wonderful Bro-mance About Choices
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 23, 2012
Cheeseland is a story of three high school friends, Lance, Danny, and Marty about to graduate.  Marty kills himself after learning his father molested Lance.  Guilt and grief drive a wedge in Danny's and Lance's friendship.  In a last ditch effort to remain friends, Lance takes Danny to Wisconsin for a day of wild fun.  For those who are not from the Midwest, Cheeseland is what Chicagoans affectionately call Wisconsin.  The wild night takes some twists and turns with Lance telling Danny about the molestation.  A chance at salvation enters the picture.  Danny seems moved by the Spirit while Lance ignores it.  Shortly afterward, the two boys go to the police and are rebuked.  Danny and Lance go their separate ways.  Thirty years later they reunite to take care of some unfinished business.My Thoughts and Views:Cheeseland is a refreshing, entertaining, and profound bro-mance about choices one makes because of an unforgiving past.  Lance's character reminds me so much of a girl I used to hang out with in high school-hilarious and wild, yet deep down inside a real train wreck that's bound to crash and burn.  I suspect that she, too, was broken.  Sadly, we are a sum of our parts.  Not everyone is an Oprah and rises above their circumstances.  Again, Lance is presented with a second chance in adulthood which Danny arranges.  Again, he chooses to ignore it.Mr. Richardson drops several hints that Lance never wanted to leave his past, refusing to grow up by marrying a girl in high school and staying in the same town despite killing a girl in a traffic accident.  He never got an education or a real skill.  Misery loves company.  I was curious to know if Marty was also a victim of his father's sexual abuse, but that was never answered.Danny, on the other hand, wants a different life.  In the beginning of the story he is described as a struggling student with reading problems.  He grows up to be a lawyer, a perfect example of triumphing over disability.  He moves to California and marries a woman, never telling her about his past.  His parents are rarely visited.  The dichotomy of the two characters adds to the suspense.  Without giving too much away, the ending plays out like a Shakespearean tragedy.  It was the only way this kind of story could end both in fiction and in real life.The setting was a big hit with me.  As a Chicagoan, I knew the highways, places, towns, and other details Mr. Richardson used.  Especially liked his mention of Alpine Valley-many warm and hazy memories from my adolescence.  I cannot help but compare Mr. Richardson's work to Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes and Dennis Lehane's Mystic River.  A five star drama!