A man starts over as an actor.
AARON WITH 2 A'S is used with permission from Steve Lichtenstein. Learn more at https://instagram.com/aaronwith2asfilm.
Aaron is an actor just getting started in his career -- but at the age of 65, just when his wife is looking to retire. Reinventing himself in middle age and following his passion, he goes through a series of ups and downs, dealing with doubts from the people around him. But they're not as persistent or niggling as the doubts in his head.
When Aaron books a gig that could change his life, things are looking up. though that puts him more at odds with his wife Judy, who wants to travel the world. But when another setback occurs, Aaron realizes his biggest block may be within himself.
Directed by Michael Goldburg from a script co-written with Mark Resnik, Montana Rock and Steve Lichtenstein (who plays the lead role of Aaron), this witty and warmhearted short dramedy follows the triumphs and travails of a man reinventing himself at an age when most of his peers are retiring. Aaron is 65 years old, but he's following his passion for acting finally. He's taking classes, got an agent and going on auditions, but has yet to book a career-making role, and the waiting game -- along with the doubts of his loved ones -- is beginning to mess with his head.
In tone and tenor, the storytelling has the look, sound and feel of a classic New York urban comedy, with sharp dialogue, cocktail jazz-like score, ironic observations and a strong dose of neuroticism, thanks especially to its main character. As Aaron navigates a series of situations and pressures -- calls with his agents, running into ex-colleagues, monologues in class, tense conversations with a loving but exasperated wife -- his doubts begin to magnify. He's on the way but not quite there yet, and it's slowly eking away at his self-esteem. But when he finally gets some good news, his spirits also lift -- he can finally tell himself and the world that he's "made it."
As an actor, Lichtenstein conveys the fundamental passion and engagement of a man doing what he loves, overlaid with the weight of increasingly heavy insecurity. His performance becomes heavier as the story progresses, with Aaron lowest point when his lucky break turns into a mirage. It all culminates into a battle of voices that arises in the middle of Times Square, and Aaron must make them disappear, once and for all.
Engaging, earnest and entertaining, AARON WITH 2 A'S culminates in a central realization applicable to us all: it's the nature of life itself to go up and down, and it's the voices in our head that keep us from being present in our lives. What Aaron discovers is an acceptance of those vicissitudes. He's not insulated from temporary disappointment or setbacks, but he finds joy in the journey of it all -- the joy that he gets from pursuing what he loves, side by side with the people who love him. He's not so concerned with external validation but his internal experience, fully alive to the moment. It's a form of wholeheartedness that anyone can bring to their lives, no matter what they do: a subtle shift, but one that makes all the difference.