Driveways is a 2019 American drama film directed by Andrew Ahn and starring Hong Chau, Lucas Jaye, and Brian Dennehy.
Kathy (Chau) is a single mother who comes to a small town in New York to clean out her late, estranged sister’s home and settle her estate. Her young, introverted son Cody (Jaye) strikes up an unlikely friendship with Del (Dennehy), the widowed Korean War veteran who lives next door.
The film made its video-on-demand debut on May 7, 2020 in lieu of a theatrical release due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. It was a posthumous release for Dennehy, who had passed away in April 2020.
This film provides examples of:
- Big "NO!": Cody's reaction when Del tells him that he plans to move away.
- Bittersweet Ending: Kathy decides to move into her sister's house rather than sell it and Cody happily tells Del that they'll truly be neighbors. At almost the same time, Del's daughter prepares to move Del to a retirement home closer to where she lives in Washington. The final scenes of the movie, after Del moves away, show Cody happily playing with the neighborhood kids he met earlier in the movie, as life moves on.
- But Now I Must Go: With some urging from his daughter, Del decides to relocate to a retirement home in Washington to be closer to her.
- I Choose to Stay: Kathy and Cody decide to move into the house rather than sell it.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Korean War veteran Del and Kathy's 8-year old son, Cody, form one.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Linda cites this when her grandson tripped and broke his arm after setting off fireworks in Kathy and Cody's backyard as a prank.
- Limited Wardrobe: Kathy and Cody are shown wearing the same clothes over multiple days, which makes sense given that they were only intending to stay long enough to prepare the house to sell.
- Slice of Life: Much of the film follows Kathy and Cody doing rather mundane everyday activities, as the former goes through the process of settling her sister’s estate and the latter bonds with quiet next-door neighbor Del.
- Stress Vomit: Cody suffers from this when overwhelmed by the overly rambunctious and physical grandkids of their other neighbor, Linda.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Most of the film, but particularly the ending when Del moves away. There's no last-minute reprieve. Kathy tells Cody that they could take a road trip to visit Del in Washington, but Del knows that's unlikely to happen. The final scene shows Cody running out to play with the neighborhood kids, as life goes on.
- Trash of the Titans: Kathy immediately learns that her older sister was a hoarder. It takes most of the film for the home to become inhabitable through cleaning, de-junking, and hosting a large yard sale.
