Our Very Own’s story line revolves around the visit of actress Sondra Locke to her home town of Shelbyville, Tenn., in 1978 and the hoopla it raises—at the time she was riding high with Clint Eastwood. But this highly detailed and wonderfully acted ensemble drama is really about personal growth and the pursuit of happiness, not unlike American Graffiti. It has a healthy budget and solid direction by veteran TV actor Cameron Watson (who also wrote the tasty script, which is seasoned with a hint of Tennessee Williams). Those who enjoyed 2005’s Junebug and like-minded coming-of-age stories will find this one immensely enjoyable.

Shelf Talk: Doing justice to the solid script is a fine cast of players, many of whom have TV followings—Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Allison Janney (The West Wing), Hilarie Burton (One Tree Hill), Jason Ritter (Joan of Arcadia), Autumn Reeser (The O.C.) and even Keith Carradine (late of Deadwood)—and those names should be played up. Several festival awards and an under-the-radar Starz pay-cable airing last December won’t help much, but this one deserves prominent placement and talking up.