Synopsis: The "Secaucus 7" of the film's title are seven friends who, during their college days, were arrested in New Jersey on their way to a protest in Washington. The film takes place ten years later as the friends gather at the home of Mike and Katie, now schoolteachers, in New Hampshire, bringing with them old problems and new: Maura has left Jeff and seeks consolation with his best friend, J.T.; J.T., arguably the least successful of the friends, finally gets the courage to move to L.A. to start his music career; Irene brings her new boyfriend (Chip) along, hoping he'll like and be liked by their group. The reunion between friends leads to a dramatic, poignant and revelatory weekend.

Cast:
Bruce MacDonald .... Mike Donnelly
Maggie Renzi .... Katie Sipriano
Adam LeFevre .... J.T.
Maggie Cousineau .... Frances Carlson
Gordon Clapp .... Chip Hollister
Jean Passanante .... Irene Rosenblue
Karen Trott .... Maura Tolliver
Mark Arnott .... Jeff Andrews
David Strathairn .... Ron Desjardins
John Sayles .... Howie
Marisa Smith .... Carol
Amy Schewel .... Lacey Summers
Carolyn Brooks .... Meg
Eric Forsythe .... Captain
Nancy Mette .... Lee

Favorite Quotes:
• Howie: "Sunday!"
Ron: "Sunday!"
Mike: "Sunday!"

• Ron: "I fix cars. That's what I like to do. In town here, if somebody's engine's running a little rough, breaks are shot, thing won't start, they say, 'Take it to Ron.'"
Frances: "You're like the family doctor."
Ron: "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

• "What are we gonna do with all those eggs?" - Katie

Notes:
• Return of the Secaucus 7 was John Sayles's directorial debut and also David's first motion picture debut. However, contrary to popular belief, it is not the first film he made. When Nature Calls was the first, though it was not released till a few years after Secaucus 7.
• David had previously worked in theatre with many of his fellow co-stars in the film, including Sayles, Gordon Clapp, and Irene Rosenblue.
• There are several nude scenes in the film, including some diving sequences between David and Sayles. The actual water they dove into naked was "near freezing", according to the director.
• Return of the Secaucus 7 heavily influenced the later, more popular The Big Chill.
• John Sayles earned several awards for his directorial debut, including the Boston Society of Film Critics Awards (Best Independent Film), and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards (Best Screenplay). He was also nominated for a Writers Guild of America award.
• David's wife, Logan Goodman, was a production assistant and extra on the film.

Critical Praise & Commentary:
• "The film meanders passionately, as we (and the characters) wonder who will sleep with, get jealous of or fall out of love with whom. There are some strong scenes in the second half, including an argument between Maura and Jeff in a bar and an increasingly heated pick-up basketball game." -Mark Keizer, DVD File

• "The cast are mostly actors that Sayles and Renzi (his long-time life and producing partner) knew from doing summer stock theater--the performances range from the painfully amateurish to the surprisingly assured (look for Sayles-regular David Strathairn in a small role)." -Dawn Taylor, DVD Journal Quick Review

• "...the cast (who, like Sayles, were all just pushing thirty) improves as the film progresses. Many of them, including the increasingly great David Strathairn have gone on to strong, varied careers since." -Bob Westal, Film Threat

(John Sayles On David:)
• "David Strathairn, who I had only known slightly in college from seeing him on stage (he was a year ahead of me), is somebody I think I've worked with seven times now. I don't know exactly what he's going to do, but I know it's going to be interesting. Until the first day on the first take of whatever David does, I don't know exactly what it's going to look like or sound but I know he's going to do something interesting." -John Sayles, co-star (Howie) & director, DVD interview

• "David Strathairn is somebody I had worked with quite a bit in theatre, and somebody who I always knew would do interesting things. He's still the only actor that, when I've acted in my own movies, I let be behind me. Even when you're acting in your own movie, you tend to want to see people in front of you, and this is years before there was video assist. So, it just went into the camera and you didn't see it until, you know, days [or] maybe weeks later. So, David's somebody I always felt comfortable just saying, 'Well, do something interesting, Dave' and let him act behind me and be pleasantly surprised when I got into the editing room. David and Gordon [Clapp] had worked in youth theatre together, doing childrens' theatre--kind of barnstorming around the East Coast. So, they were very comfortable working with each other, and they had both worked with Jean Passanante, who's in the car here, in summer theatre. And I think that helped the ensemble a bit, is that many, if not all the actors, had worked together before in various different parts. So, they at least were use to each others' working rhythms, if not the exact character that they were playing." -John Sayles, co-star (Howie) & director, DVD commentary

• "And the character that I'm playing and David Strathairn is playing--it's an interesting dynamic, I think, in small towns between the people who leave and the people who stay. They may have been pretty tight friends; there's often a level of discomfort when they get back together. Class in America is a very shifty thing but it does exist, and as you get older--as you get out of school--it manifests itself in a lot more rigid ways. And these are guys who actually still enjoy each other..." -John Sayles, co-star (Howie) & director, DVD commentary

• "David Strathairn had a very hard time saying 'a tub of goose-grease and a bottle of moxie,' and that took us about nine takes. That's probably the most takes we did in the whole movie. He just was having a hard time with the line; it turned out to be kind of a tongue twister for him." -John Sayles, co-star (Howie) & director, DVD commentary

Related Links:
http:// John Sayles Retro - Return of the Secaucus 7