The opening night film, “Five Star Day,” stars Cam Gigandet (“Twilight”) as Jake Gibson, a young Berkeley student whose horoscope forecasts a perfect ‘Five Star Day’ the morning of his birthday. Little does he realize that what is foretold to be a flawless ‘Five Star Day,’ unfolds to be less than stellar as Jake’s world is turned upside down. All that could go wrong, does. Jake is fired from his job, walks in on his girlfriend sleeping with another man, and as if that’s not bad enough, gets carjacked that night.
Determined that astrology has no legitimacy, Jake embarks on a journey to test the theory of astrology by finding three people born at the same time and place as himself. Jake’s pursuit in finding and interviewing his three astrological matches not only tests his convictions, but validates how life’s unexpected twists of fate can deliver much more than anticipated.
Jake meets Sarah, (played brilliantly by Jena Malone) a young single mother struggling with the stress of her deadbeat ex-boyfriend, raising a daughter and keeping a job. Next, he meets Yvonne (Brooklyn Soldano), a nurse in a rehab clinic dealing with the guilt of a car accident she feels responsible for. Finally, he meets Wes (Max Hartman), a lounge singer in Atlantic City who takes him for a wild ride of a night. What Jake learns along the way is an important lesson about life, love, fate and destiny that will unexpectedly change his life forever.
The film’s premiere was a grand success, with all the seats of the Edwards Big Newport theater sold out to ticketholders.
“All of us who worked on ‘Five Star Day’ are deeply honored to be selected by the Newport Beach Film Festival and are still in shock to be opening the Festival,” said Mike Robertson, executive producer and producer of “Five Star Day.” “Having our World Premiere in our backyard was something we couldn’t have even dreamed of.”
Gigandet does surprisingly well in his role as the protagonist, although his good looks almost distract from his acting. The standouts in “Five Star Day” would have to be Jena Malone as Sarah and Max Hartman as Wes. Malone is so believable in her admittedly cliché role as a single mother trying to make ends meet to provide for her daughter. Hartman’s Wes, the Frank Sinatra-esque singer, makes for the most entertaining sequences in the film, as his character has more personality than all the others combined. Hartman’s wise, nonchalant portrayal is reminiscent of a less pompous, more drunken Orson Welles.
