MovieChat Forums > The Good Girl (2002) Discussion > Overrated, generic by-the-numbers Indie

Overrated, generic by-the-numbers Indie

posted 11 years ago by GuyOnTheLeft
8 replies | jump to latest

The flat cinematography, stereotypical and superficial portrayal of blue-collar heartland Americans, and understated marital angst: all are hallmarks of many a '90s indie film. But where is the unique vision? It's hard to believe this came from the same filmmakers behind Chuck and Buck for instance. Or HBO's Enlightened. Were they lobotomized for this effort? Was there studio interference? Strange to imagine that, considering that this is still not really a mainstream film given its low production values.

5/10

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[–] Tomopkin 10 years ago

I have to disagree with you. I found this to be a solid, well acted and thoughtful little film.

[–] yajji 9 years ago

I disagree as well. I thought it was a sincere, well directed film with great, memorable performances. If anything, it's underrated. How can an offbeat film like this be overrated? You'd be hard pressed to find someone that's heard of it, let alone seen it.

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 9 years ago

I'm talking about among elite critics.

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[–] usernumber655321 9 years ago

Over-rated? No. I don't really understand that argument, as hardly anyone has even heard of it, let alone seen it. And critics weren't head over heels about it.

I do think that the casting of Jake G. was a particularly terrible decision. He really drags the movie down a lot.

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 9 years ago

I'm talking about among elite critics who like to tout it as a "hidden gem". It has an 81 percent rating at Rotten Tomatoes, which is pretty high if you ask me. Some examples:

Mick LaSalle, SF Chronicle: "A smart, arch and rather cold-blooded comedy."

Rex Reed, NY Observer: "What a fresh and interesting take on the drama that lurks beneath the numbing façade of empty small-town American life."

Roger Ebert: "Aniston has at last decisively broken with her Friends image in an independent film of satiric fire and emotional turmoil."

Andrew Sarris, NY Observer: "Working with emotionally dangerous material, Mr. Arteta sails through without undue malice, reminding me of the late, great Rainer Werner Fassbinder."

Kevin Thomas, L.A. Times: "One of the year's best films."

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: "A droll, well-acted, character-driven comedy with unexpected deposits of feeling."

Hoberman's review was especially shocking as he (and the Voice generally) generally hates almost everything.

There were a couple notable critics I agreed with, though they were a distinct minority:

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: "Feels like a composite of several other slightly more assured indies of recent years."

Stephen Hunter, Washington Post: "It's tough, astringent, darkly funny and... well, it's also generic, untidy, condescending and mild of impact rather than stunning."

Even those are less negative on the film than I think is warranted. But I'm glad at least to see Hunter use that word "generic" (I don't believe I had seen that when I characterized it as such). It might seem a fresher and more original vision if you haven't seen as many indie films as I have; but critics have generally seen so many, it's hard to understand why so many of them rave about it.

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[–] usernumber655321 9 years ago

I agree with some of what you say. It is definitely not Mike White's finest hour. I definitely didn't have as negative a reaction as you did, other than Jake Gyllenhaal sucking giant donkey penis.

[–] prplayer 8 years ago

how can it be generic when you can't guess what's going to happen next

i find it hard to believe that someone could have predicted the whole movie as they were watching it

so many movies, so little time

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 8 years ago

No, but that's also true if I were to cut out a bunch of pictures from indie movie posters and then shuffle them around in a bag and throw a few of them onto a sticky surface. It would still be a generic pastiche of indie tropes.

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