In 1971, a car crash and funeral bring newlyweds Jerry and Marie Maruskin back home to Youngstown, Ohio to help out with Marie..s family. They are guilt-tripped into living with and caring for Marie's Italian Grandfather, who strongly disapproves of Jerry. What is supposed to be a temporary solution turns out to be the most trying and outlandish year-and-a-half of Jerry's life.
In the midst of all the madness, Jerry reconnects with Clay, a college friend, who helps him work out his frustrations on his 1966 Dodge Charger. Jerry and Clay discover that their lives have some uncanny parallels. Before long, Jerry finds that he must make some difficult decisions that place him at odds with not only his wife but also his best friend. With his life in need of some serious maintenance, can Jerry survive the long and rocky road or will he break down before he can fine-tune things? From Emmy Award Winner and Youngstown native Chris Rutushin, Fine-Tune is a "dramedy" based on a true story about how love and forgiveness can conquer all odds.
The idea for Fine-Tune was born in Youngstown in November 2001 after writer/director Chris Rutushin discovered a renewed interest in his Italian heritage. A life-changing trip to Europe further fueled his passion to make the dream for this movie a reality. Upon his return, he began asking family and friends to describe more stories about his great grandfather. He couldn’t believe the stories he heard. After compiling hours of recorded interviews and seemingly endless pages of notes, Chris went to work on a screenplay.
The screenplay was shelved when Rutushin was offered a photojournalist position with KLAS-Channel 8 in Las Vegas. Rutushin and reporter Yetta Gibson won an Emmy in 2003 for “Jeffrey’s Recipe,†a news feature about a former drug dealer-turned-chef that helps inter-city youths turn their lives around.
That same year, Rutushin accepted a position as a special project/assignment photojournalist at KTNV-Channel 13, also in Las Vegas. The new position provided him with a renewed sense of self confidence and enthusiasm, which rekindled his interest in finishing the screenplay.
Over the next two years, he threw himself into the script. Rewrite after rewrite brought him to Los Angeles where he reconnected with fellow Ohio University Alumnus Jenean Atwood. After more months of rewrites in Los Angeles, it was time to return to Youngstown and fulfill the journey that started five years ago.
“Friends tried to persuade me to stay in L.A. and shoot there,†Rutushin said. “The story takes place in Youngstown. You can only shoot it here. Youngstown has seen some hard times but I’m tired of people complaining that nothing good happens here. If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. I just want to do something positive so people will have something good to rally behind,†Rutushin said.
