I wish I were one of those people who rush to see every new movie (or at least the ones who appeal to them) as soon as they hit the theater, or like those who check out every new show that looks promising. Binge-watching has spoiled me when it comes to TV, so aside from the few shows I follow regularly, lately I find myself preferring to just wait and binge on slightly older shows or just focus my attention on mini-series I can watch start-to-finish over a weekend.
As far as movies are concerned, I go through phases. Some weeks I don’t even have the attention span to sit through a whole movie; others I refuse to invest the time unless it’s a must-see. Over the past few months, the only “new” movie I saw was Nocturnal Animals (loved it).
Then there are times when I try to dig up a handful of movies of a certain genre and watch them back-to-back. So, given my recent disappointment in 13 Reasons Why, I figured I should get my teen drama/rom-com fix wherever I could get it, so I picked a few films off of random recommendations:
The Edge of Seventeen
Sigh. What is it with self-absorbed, woe-is-me heroines lately? Having just suffered through the awfulness that was Hannah, I found too many similarities with the female protagonist to really enjoy the movie, although I have to admit this was probably the best of the bunch.
It’s a sweet story, Woody Harrelson is great and Blake Jenner is so cute that I. Can’t. Even. I shouldn’t be bashing this movie just because 13 Reasons Why left a sour taste in my mouth, but the selfish, angsty antics of Hailee Steinfeld’s Nadine were ultimately too annoying to let me enjoy the film.
The To-Do List
As ‘raunchy’ teen comedies go, this wasn’t the worst; the R rating allows it to drop F-bombs and handle sexual themes with more freedom than most teen flicks, and Aubrey Plaza’s performance is hilariously over-the-top.
The premise is quite simple: a recent high school graduate decides to cram some sexual education into her summer before going to college, which inevitably complicates her friendships. Luckily the movie strays from the classic Cinderella/makeover story and the heroine remains quite awkward throughout, but the part that is actually refreshing is how matter-of-factly the virginal protagonist approaches the various sex acts she engages in.
The To-Do List definitely won’t stand out as a film that defines a generation, but it was a fun couple of hours nonetheless.
Take Me Home Tonight
This isn’t technically a teen movie, but with every adult character regressing to their teenage selves over the course of an outrageous night at a party, it doesn’t really stray much from the genre.
The movie is set in the 80’s, adding a fun vibe for all of us who were alive to experience it (or anyone who’s watched classic movies of the era). It manages to encompass every cliche imaginable – from the banker aspirations of most young people at the time, bouffant hairdos and copious amounts of cocaine, down to the whole finally-sleeping-with-my-teenage-crush classic plot device that drives the majority of teen movies.
Topher Grace is likable enough, but the best part is cute couple Anna Faris and Chris Pratt (before he became the media darling he is now).
Everybody Wants Some!!
Okay, first of all, nothing about this movie merits TWO exclamation points in the title. Among the most recent and highly rated out of all the movies I watched, this one has me scratching my head as to why. I never really bought into the Linklater adoration – the Before trilogy was boring to me, and while I can appreciate the huge undertaking that was Boyhood, it still didn’t excite me all that much. Maybe it’s my dislike of Ethan Hawke, but even without him in the lead role, it just fell flat.
Not even Blake Jenner in all his hotness was enough to make this story interesting for me, because there really isn’t much story to it: we follow a group of college baseball player roommates as they pick up girls, get drunk at parties, smoke pot, go to practice and generally don’t care about school. The end.
The fact that it was marketed as the sequel to Dazed and Confused didn’t do it any favors, either – that movie is on a whole other level, as far as I’m concerned. The romance subplot is pretty meh, and I’m having the hardest time accepting TWD’s Austin Amelio as a college-aged kid. I have to admit the early 80’s vibe is done well, and the soundtrack is amazing, but that’s not nearly enough to make this movie a stand-out for me.
10 Years
This one is, again, before Chris Pratt got ripped and catapulted into the superstar he is today – even before Channing Tatum caused middle-aged women the world over to swoon over his Magic Mike dance moves – but the largest part of the movie feels a lot like Everybody Wants Some!! in terms of storytelling: we see a day in the life of group of old friends coming together for their 10th high school reunion.
Nothing spectacular happens for the most part, and it’s not until the final half hour or so that we finally become emotionally engaged and their stories start to become interesting. The cast is pretty impressive and most of the performances feel realistic, but the only actual character development is reserved for the two characters we don’t really care about, and ultimately nothing about this movie stands out as particularly great.
About Alex
One of the two stand-outs of this handful of movies, and quite reminiscent of The Big Chill. A group of college friends reunite after one of them attempts suicide. What follows is a weekend of awkward conversations, unexpected confessions, a couple of joints, some stellar home cooking, and, of course, quite a bit of sex.
Wow, sounds pretty lame when you put it like that, but it’s actually a very sweet, human story that centers around relationships, (slight) mental illness and the merits of living in the present vs nostalgia. As with Take Me Home Tonight, the characters regress to their college selves, still hung up on what happened between them when they were 20, but it’s handled in a realistic way that walks the line between sappy and funny. Not a classic by any means, but at least it didn’t feel like a waste of two hours.
July 28, 2017 at 1:14 am
Hey, you! Good theme/genre connector. Of your selections, I’ve only seen The Do List just because Aubrey Plaza is so deadpan fantastic. Thought it was okay. Some jokes fell a bit flat. Nothing particularly madcap hilarious about it, but the premise is such a great ’80s sexcom homage, I give it props for trying it out (that, and Plaza, Plaza, Plaza).
I’ll see if I can hunt down About Alex and Take Me Home Tonight just for shits and giggles. Not too keen on anything Linklater (so very dull). The others, meh. Maybe if I catch them on cable or something.
My go-to reunion or throwback comedies are Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion and 200 Cigarettes (just for the era, music, scenarios, and Dave Chappelle). I watch them every time they’re on, no matter what.
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July 28, 2017 at 9:42 am
Hey Kenzie!
Haha thanks, it was completely random. I was running out of ideas and just took IMDb’s suggestions.
Aubrey Plaza is awesome but she needs to branch out a little bit. She’s always playing the same character in every movie I’ve seen her.
THANK YOU re: Linklater. Dull and pretentious and just… no.
I haven’t watched Romy & Michelle’s HS Reunion in ages – love 200 Cigarettes! I’m on a nostalgia kick lately, can’t wait for the new IT movie and Stranger Things in the fall ❤
How are you doing? How's the writing coming along?
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July 30, 2017 at 4:27 am
I can see that you’re doing the nostalgia run. Funny, speaking of, a friend of mine recommended I watch Riverdale since she and I were huge Archie comic fans when we were young (she’s a far more dedicated fan than I am though). Have you seen it? Aside from all the nods to Archie and generation X (the adult casting shows this), it’s a fun, little teen drama with some seediness/dark goings-on. The dialogue is sharp, too.
I cannot wait for IT and Stranger Things as well. Here’s hoping the It film is as creepy as the trailers have been. As much as I don’t care for The Dark Tower series, I did enjoy the trailer for the film with all the Stephen King easter eggs in it. It might…MIGHT…get me to watch it. Plus, I’ll watch Idris Elba in anything, really.
Writing has been keeping me away from all sorts of things. I’m so determined to get things done, I’ve turned down several invites. I didn’t realize until now just how much time had been sucked from my schedule. It hasn’t been a great summer (not only was there a breakup, I’ve a friend who was diagnosed with leukemia earlier this month), but it’s been productive, and I’m grateful for that outlet.
How about you? Are you still summering at the summer house? How goes the cake making?? They’re so incredible!
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July 30, 2017 at 9:50 am
Riverdale eh? I vaguely remember reading a few random Archie issues as a kid but it never really took off in Greece… plus I read a few bad reviews and figured it would be awful – then again, I binged on the entirety of Pretty Little Liars this year, so who am I kidding? I’ll check it out, thanks!
I never read the Dark Tower series, I guess I lost interest in King somewhere around the time The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon came out… I’m halfway through the Hodges trilogy now though, and even though it’s nowhere near as good as his old stuff, it has rekindled my love for him.
Good on you for focusing on your writing! Can’t wait to read the book – if your short stories are any indication, we’re in for a treat 😉
I’m so sorry to hear about your break up… Not much I can say about your relationship except he’s a fool to let you go. And I’m really, really sorry to hear about your friend. Fingers crossed he/she will beat leukemia.
As for me, yep, still at the summer house – with my parents, so it’s not nearly as fun as it sounds. Taking a break from all the baking – not only do I not have the space and equipment I need here, but it’s a pain in the ass working in this heat. We had a massive heatwave when I did the last few cakes you saw, I was melting (and so was the buttercream) and it took double the amount and time and effort to make them presentable, so unless the temperature drops below 80F I’m not putting myself through this again!
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July 28, 2017 at 10:11 am
Ah man, it’s such a shame that you’re not a fan of the Linklater films – to say I’m a massive fan of his work is an understatement!
I agree with the above – Romy and Michelle’s is a huge throwback and there are certainly more from the 90s that are good fun! Election (with Reese Witherspoon) is amazingly good fun and staying with high school (although it’s certainly not a teen film) is Grosse Pointe Blank! If you like your horror, I Know What You Did Last Summer is always pretty good too!
What do you think your next genre smash will be?
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July 28, 2017 at 10:42 am
Thanks for reading!
Yeah, I wish I liked Linklater’s work but alas, it’s not for me.
Hm, I wasn’t planning of making this a regular thing but now you’ve got me thinking. I’ll guess I’ll have to come up with something – maybe ‘ll stick with the 80’s theme, the new IT movie trailer looks very promisng and it would be fun to tackle a few remakes.
For now, however, I have a few TV shows on my queue I need to binge on 😉
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