da Buck Stops Here

Escanaba in da Moonlight is an hilarious film that celebrates one of Michigan's three seasons: Winter, Construction, and Hunting.

At the age of 43, Ruben Soady is dangerously close to being the oldest member of his family to never hang a buck on da buck pole. That status may be fine for the average Troll (someone who lives south of the Mackinaw Bridge) coming to the Upper Peninsula on an annual hunting pilgrimage, but for a Soady... Well, it's enough to bring the highest level of shame to Ruben and his family. No longer content to endure being called "Buckless Yooper" by friends and neighbors, Ruben is determined that this year will be different. In a last-ditch effort to change his luck for the better, Ruben convinces his fellow hunting buddies to participate in an ancient Native American ritual guaranteed to draw every buck in the state to the front door of their rustic backwoods cabin. What happens instead is a series of strange, terrifying, and unexplainable events, including: An exploding Chevy, UFO sightings, haunted Euchre cards, and a surprise visit from the most dreaded of dreadful visitors, a DNR officer. Will this night before Opening Day ever end? And, when the sun finally rises, will Ruben be prepared to face the inevitable?

Written by and starring Jeff Daniels and featuring Harve Presnell, Joey Albright, Wayne David Parker, and Randall Godwin, Escanaba in da Moonlight is a regional comedy that can be enjoyed by both "Yoopers" and "Trolls", deer hunters and their "widows".

Rated: PG-13 for some crude humor.