Honestly, what was the grand scheme of this film? Is it a coming of age film? There was no true conflict that I could see besides maybe the emotions and experiences of the different teenagers. Was there some deeper meaning that I missed?
Interesting film though. Enjoyed the music.
[deleted]
Thanks for the reply. That makes a lot of sense now that I've thought on it
shareSince it was basically written by James Franco, it seemed more like it was about the teenagers of my day, even though it was set in the present-day era, But then maybe things haven't changed all that much.
I thought it was a very realistic movie. Teens do party and have sex (if not always with who they want to). Being a teenager is a kind of aimless journey (just like adulthood). It's not all some stupid quest to lose your virginity. It usually doesn't end in some John Hughes fairy-tale romance.
Of all the "teen movies" made in the last 35 years, I've only seen a few that I thought were very realistic--"Over the Edge", "River's Edge", "Whatever", and maybe a couple others. Most of them are just stupid, totally unrealistic sex comedies ("American Pie", "Project X") or ridiculous alarmist nonsense about how "kids today" are all going to hell ("Kids"). Then there's the all the teen romance movies with or without vampires and sci-fi dystopian settings. This movie is a rare breath of fresh air actually.
@imnotazombie: well said! People mostly try to compare movies to other ones, find meaning, etc. etc. I don't say that's wrong or something, but just try to watch it, see how it makes you feel and simply let it be that way. If you don't understand some parts; totally fine!
No. What you are experiencing is the affect of watching hacks. Jim Franco's story was an unreadable book adapted into a near unwatchable film (I dug the music too). Too bad. Coppollas are usually good young and out of the gate. poor girl.
shareI couldn't stand this movie! A neighbor gave it to me and said it starts out slow, then something really heavy happens. WTF was she watching! There was not one character I liked, and most I hated.
Maybe I'm too old. If there was a message it went over my head - while it bored me to death! Maybe if I didn't dislike the characters so much, I could have seen the point. I often like slow, slice of life movies. This one telegraphed every move, and felt like a failure.
And it wasn't until the end that I realized 'Ted' was a Kilmer, when I noticed 'the smile'. That explained his fat father having a pointless role in the movie.
I was never a Franco fan, and this confirmed why.
OMG I hated this movie! And I'm mad that she recommended this movie, and stole 90 minutes from me. But it wasn't made for me, or my generation.
It's hard for them to form connections.
This is the first generation where they were born with computers and cellphones molded into their hands.
Spoiler:
I liked Ted, I felt like he took the 'good road' at the end, so to spoke.