Sunset Boulevard’s Norma Desmond famously proclaimed, “I am big; it’s the pictures that got small.” She may be right, but I’ve always viewed movies much like I view meals: A big one’s great now and then, but too many of them can make you ridiculously unhealthy. I prefer a steady diet of smaller, character-driven films, and the newly released Diggers nicely fits the bill.

Produced by the HD Net channel and released (more or less) simultaneously on television, in theaters, and on DVD, Diggers is ostensibly the story of a small community of clam digging families in Long Island in the mid-70s. The film centers on Paul Rudd’s Hunt, who comes from a long line of clam diggers. He has followed in their footsteps not out of any particular affection or talent, but because that’s where life put him. However, when a large corporation moves in and begins to elbow out the independent diggers, Hunt and his friends are forced to make some difficult choices.

The fantastic script is by Ken Marino, who also co-stars as Lozo, the hot-headed family man. Marino is a veteran of MTV’s the State (as is producer David Wain), members of which have carved their own niche in American comedy, responsible for everything from the goofy Cops satire Reno 911! to the goofy summer camp farce Wet Hot American Summer. Fans expecting more of the same, however, are in for a bit of a surprise. Although the script has plenty of light touches (my favorite being Hunt’s family’s unanimous reaction to his sister’s ex-husband), this is a straight-forward slice-of-life film. Diggers has more in common with Garden State, albeit a little more grown up and less ironic

A lot of credit goes to director Katherine Dieckmann, who doesn’t overload the film with detail and gives the characters room to breathe. It helps that she has a fantastic cast that includes the always fantastic Maura Tierney as Hunt’s sister Gina, Studio 60’s Sarah Paulson as Lozo’s ever-pregnant wife Julie, and Ron Eldard as local womanizer Jack. (Fans of obscure trivia may recall that Marino replaced Eldard in NBC’s ill-fated and ill-advised remake of the British series Men Behaving Badly.) Each actor gives a pitch-perfect performance, and it’s hard not to feel like the group has known each other their entire lives. Rudd, in particular, is revelatory, showing that he is capable of not only carrying a film, but also that he is just as compelling (and entertaining) in character studies as he is in broad comedies like Anchorman.

It’s not the wacky hijinks that State fans may be expecting, but it is a damn solid film, and worthy of 90 minutes of your life.