Although we never really find out why Donald walked away from his life, over the course of the movie we are given enough of a glimpse into what his life must have been like to see that he had any number of reasons for doing so. It tells you something that the only person he's able to communicate with is an eleven-year-old girl, and when you meet his family and some of the other residents of his small town, you quickly find out why.

While most independent movies have given us a rather rosy view of eccentricities, The Guatemalan Handshake paints a slightly more insidious version. Donald's brothers and father are barely this side of human and spend their time humiliating him whenever possible. In a flashback we see the three of them leafing through a family album filled with pictures of Donald looking ridiculous as a young child and laughing themselves silly at his expense. When Donald finally cracks and steals the album away from them and leaves the room, his father follows him — not to offer comfort as you'd hope, but to ask him why he insists on spoiling their fun, and if they could have the book back. His girlfriend isn't much better, as she doesn't seem overly concerned about Donald's whereabouts. She spends the majority of the movie concerning herself with beating her father in the demolition derby that seems to be the community's ultimate yearly sporting event.

Turkeylegs is the only one who makes a concentrated effort to try and find Donald, and wonders what could have become of him. She even tries to file a missing person's report with the local police, but they don't want to be bothered. But Turkeylegs isn't going to lead any of the adults around her into having soul-searching, heart-warming moments of self-awareness; they're all far too self-absorbed for that. You end up feeling sorry for this eleven-year-old girl who's been dumped by her mother for the summer in this strange community where no one seems to give a damn about her. Except for Donald and he's vanished.

Although the acting in the movie isn't the greatest, each of the actors are able to do what is necessary to make their parts work for the movie. That they all come across as being from too small a gene pool without going over the top or resorting to the stereotypical antics one gets in a mainstream production out for cheap laughs is a good indication that the director was very specific about what he was trying to depict.