Published in the June 22 – July 5, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Connor Quinn
Photo courtesy Connor Quinn
Connor Quinn with a Challenge Coin he received from Medal of Honor recipient Clint Romesha at the Hollywood premiere of “Range 15.”
On June 3, I got the chance to attend a Hollywood premiere that I’d been anticipating for more than a year. The movie “Range 15” was a production brought on by two competing military clothing lines: Article 15 and Ranger Up. These are two companies, in competition, with the same target consumers, that teamed up to deliver a movie aimed solely at veterans and those who support them.
Last year they launched a campaign to raise the $325,000 in addition to the $500,000 they had put up. I would throw in close to a grand and in the end we ended up raising $1.5 million. I say we because after going to the premiere and meeting the guys who made this movie happen, it was clear this was about so much more than them just wanting to make a movie. They wanted to make a cult classic that would forever be labeled as “veteran humor.” I believe they did that. That hard-drinking, foul mouthed and vile persona so in your face that some people actually walked out of the movie. That is humor that comes with living on the edge.
The cast is almost entirely made up of veterans. While that’s enough to make it a bad-ass, must-see movie in and of itself, these guys managed to recruit some heavy hitters as far as heroes go, including two Medal of Honor recipients: Leroy Petry and Clint Romesha. Marcus Luttrell, who Mark Wahlberg played in the movie about Operation Red Wings titled “Lone Survivor,” was also cast.
Multiple Silver and Bronze Star and a bunch of Purple Heart recipients were also cast, namely Mary Dague, who despite having no arms is smoking hot and seriously the sweetest person.
This movie is showing the veteran community that we don’t have to live as the stereotypical damaged war veteran. That we can simply be ourselves and if the rest of society doesn’t like us for who we are, @#$%’em. No veteran should do the service they do for their country and then feel like they are obligated to be set apart from society. The Veteran’s Administration is not the answer veterans need to beat the 22 suicides a day number. Instead it’s going to be goofy like the ones who made this movie, that will inspire others. Obviously I have very strong feelings about this.
One of the actors, Vincent “Rocco” Vargas (we talked for like three minutes so we’re like best friends now) described the movie as that “smell.” It’s horrible and disgusting but you’ll keep on smelling it. It’s the perfect description for this movie. One showing (if you make it through) will not be enough. You’re going to have to watch it multiple times to hear all the jokes and take in all the imagery thrown at you. The lead actor, Mat Best (who I talked to for five minutes because I made his mom teary eyed from my mother’s day story) is probably one of the most talented people I’ve ever met and at the same time one of the most humble. Jarred Taylor (whom I talked to for about one minute because I grossed him out) is probably one of the most entertaining persons on the planet. Jack Mandaville showed some serious acting chops and was hilarious throughout. The gorgeous Mindy Robinson, Randy “The Natural” Couture’s girlfriend (who I didn’t hit on, out of respect, not fear) was so cool and I absolutely loved how her character ended up.
Those were some of the cast that I got to interact with and I wish there was more time or I had the guts to just interrupt their conversation so I could thank them. Particularly two men, Nick Palmisciano and Ross Patterson. Palmisciano is perhaps one of the greatest advocates for veterans to own their spot in this world. Patterson is probably the person I wanted to thank the most. Not only did he direct the movie, he starred in it as well. I just wanted to thank him for being the crazy hilarious person he is and for sharing in our sick, twisted, sense of humor. I believe he’s doing far more for the veteran community by entertaining than any politician out there.
If given the opportunity, I would have loved to have stolen more time to talk to all of them. I was a fan-girl the entire night, although I’d like to think I was a somewhat self-controlled fan-girl. At one moment I left the gorgeous girl I was talking too, to rush out and buy Clint Romesha a beer and talk a bit about Afghanistan. Not sure if I made the right choice on that one. It was an amazing experience to be a part of making this film happen and to have a few moments to share with these people. In the celebrity-centered world we live in where people are famous for no other reason than they have money or are willing to be idiots on camera, it’s awesome to see people who’ve done something with their lives on a selfless level. I hope everyone gets a chance to see this movie. It began June 15 in select theaters — for us the nearest showing is in San Jose. Go to TUGG.com to buy a ticket. If you want to help my generation of veterans, watch this movie. Hopefully you make it all the way through.
Connor Quinn is a nine-year Army veteran currently studying in Spain.
