Brian's Unfortunate Fortune

Brian's Unfortunate Fortune

Bruce Von Stiers

It is disconcerting and disheartening when a family member begins a cognitive decline. Especially when they had been a vibrant person. Often, the symptoms of

dementia or Alzheimer's go unnoticed or ignored until the person reaches an advanced stage.

There is a new film that builds its foundation on the disease of Alzheimer's and the symptoms of dementia. The film is a comedy drama titled Forgotten Fortune.

Brian Franks is a mailman. Or rather, he used to be a mailman. He has been retired for a while. But he sometimes still thinks that he is supposed to be out delivering mail. Brian seems to be suffering from dementia.

Brian thinks he's seen a murder being committed. But nobody will believe him. Not the two cops who've come to find him, Detective Hernandez and Sgt. Palmer. Not his daughter Maggie, nor his son Mark. They all think he was just imagining things.

Larry and Leo are Brian's poker buddies. They are playing cards and Brian tells them about seeing two guys beating up on another guy at the old Wilson house. Leo thinks that they should go investigate this themselves. Then their friend Francis shows up. She has a thing for Brian. Karsten, Francis' caregiver, comes over and ushers her out of the house.

Then Brian talks with the guys about an investment. He can't remember what happened with the investment. Brian thinks that this investment is now worth a fortune. If he could only find the paperwork for the investment.

As the film moves forward, it is learned that Brian had some cognitive tests run and he shows signs of cognitive impairment, early onset dementia or possible Alzheimer's. This doesn't set well with Mark or Brian's friend Leo.

Brian is sure there are criminals out to get him, especially after a tragedy occurs. Leo dies and Brian thinks he was murdered. Brian recruits Larry to help him investigate,

The film intertwines comedic moments with drama and a little bit of criminal activity.

While Mark and Maggie try to figure out how to deal with Brian's mental decline, he is trying to figure out who killed Leo, and why.

Brian Shoop played Brian. He has appeared in episodes of Tulsa King, Vindication, Severance and Poker Face and also Killers of the Flower Moon.

Lou Ferrigno played Leo. Since becoming famous as the Incredible Hulk, he has made over eighty screen appearances, including starring in the thrillers Mummy Dearest and The Hermit.

Jimmy ‘JJ” Walker played Larry. From playing JJ in the 70's sitcom Good Times to roles in Sweet Lorraine and Don't Suck, he has over sixty screen credits. One of those comedic moments I mentioned earlier involves Larry going to the bathroom and being overheard by the cops who are waiting to spring the trap on the criminals.

Cassie Self played Maggie. Her previous films include Blood on the Risers, The Sneakover and the horror film, Zombacter: Center City Contagion.

Mark Sherwood played Mark. More on him later.

Kimberly Gail Williams played Francis. Co-starring in films such as First Lady and Grumpy Old Santa, she has over forty-five screen credits. Hannah Benson played Karsten. Her screen credits include the films Holy Flicks and Heaven's Date.

Christopher D. Anderson was Gilbert and Alan D. Cole was Seth, the two criminals that Brian is worried about. Anderson appeared in episodes of Vegas and NCIS: Los Angeles. Cole has been a stand-in for Tude Adebimbe and Mykelti Williamson.

Stephanie Alecia Rose was Sgt. Palmer and Fou Faaiu was Detective Hernandez, the two police detectives who don't believe Brian's story of seeing a murder being committed. Greg White was the police captain who eventually believed Brian's story.

Other actors appearing in the film were Jacob Sanders, Clayton Gilliam, Micah Croquette, Daniel E. Blankenship, Lisa Rivera and Heidi Folmer.

Stevie Fernandez was the director and screenwriter for the film. Besides writing and directing such films as Holy Flicks and The Prayer List, he also does stand-up comedy.

The assistant director was Andrea Drake. She was the assistant director for Wealthy Soul and was the production assistant for The Prayer List. The director of photography duties was shared by Nick Hernandez and Libby Hernandez. They both worked on Holy Flicks and Wealthy Soul. The first assistant director was Maryam Ditachkar. She was the cinematographer for I Know What You Did.

The production companies for the film were Sherwood Films, Full Credit Media, Oklahoma Film + Music and Hawk Hill Pictures.

I mentioned earlier that Mark Sherwood played Mark. He also produced the film with his wife, Michele Sherwood. She had a minor role in the film as Dr. Sherwood.

Mark Sherwood is a naturopathic doctor. He and Michele are the founders of the Functional Medical Institute, a world-renowned health and wellness entity. Part of their outreach is to put forth films that spotlight health and spiritual issues. Forgotten Fortune is one of those films.

Forgotten Fortune is a pretty decent film. It highlights the struggles that people have when they start exhibiting symptoms of early onset dementia or Alzheimer's. It also highlights the struggles that family members have when making the hard decisions that come with the care of someone with a mentally disabling condition. But the film does it with grace and some smile effecting comedy. That comedy includes Jimmy Walker as a bit goofy and eccentric and Lou Ferrigno as a Hawaiian shirted, laid back, cool senior citizen. And there is a twist at the end of the film that you might not see coming.

Forgotten Fortune will have its world premiere at an upcoming film festival.

A formal release date for Forgotten Fortune will be announced soon.

Here is the trailer for the film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RirQ2LX3II

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