Does Radnor really think
that ripping off Garden State and the Last Kiss is the way to make it as a filmmaker?
shareI didn't think Happythankyoumoreplease was like Garden State at all. Examples, please.
shareThe only comparison between the two is that they were written/directed/starring actors who were leads of successful sitcoms. Plot wise they aren't alike.
shareWell, it does fit in with the older guy in a midlife crisis falling for a younger girl syndrome. In that way they are very similiar.
shareHe's aiming more towards a Woody Allen style, but I can see how people think he's just taking from Garden State...this and Garden State are pretty surface dense in comparison to the never ending barrel depth found in even the most accessible Woody Allen film.
But the character arcs and the motivations are completely different.
In The Last Kiss, the older guy (Zach Braff) falls for the younger girl because he wants to feel young again. He needed excitement to escape what he thought was a boring suburban life. His conflict was resolved when he realized that he preferred the intimacy and familiarity with his wife.
In Liberal Arts, the older guy (Josh Radnor) never grew out of his college personae. He fell for the younger girl because they were at the same emotional stage. She was advanced for her age, and he was stunted. His conflict was resolved when he realized that he needed to move past romanticizing that period of his life and be okay with moving into the next stage of life. He needed to be okay with the process of transforming from the caterpillar to a butterfly (to borrow the metaphor used in the film).
In other words, they really aren't similar in the way that you describe. They are completely different arcs with completely different messages.
The Last Kiss is just a horrible ripoff anyway, when compared to the movie it's based on, L'Ultimo Bacio.
share