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Directed By: Vicky Jenson
Starring:
Alexis Bledel as Ryden
Michael Keaton as Walter
Zach Gilford as Adam
Post Grad is the kind of movie that depends on its main character to be a complete moron for the first hour and then to become a suddenly enlightened individual in the last act. This time around, a casket, a soap box derby, and an Eskimo Pie bring about the character’s contrived enlightenment. The character is Ryden Malby (Bledel), a college student who has elaborate plans for her post-graduation life. We meet her as she prepares to accept her diploma, smiling and giddy with excitement. Then, a string of terrible things happen all at once: she wrecks her car, doesn’t get her dream job, is denied for her dream apartment, and is forced to move back in with her borderline psychotic family. Yes, it would seem that it sucks to be Ryden Malby…but I would happily wager that her life sucks a little less than the experience of having to watch it all happen.
Prior to viewing Post Grad, I had a theory that is as follows: no film featuring the charms of Alexis Bledel, Jane Lynch, and the great Carol Burnett could ever be bad. Needless to say, I was very wrong. In fact, these three talented ladies come off looking worse than anyone else involved in this film’s production. They are just too talented and intelligent to choose material as bad and as thoroughly boring as this. Michael Keaton, on the other hand, has become notorious for making poor decisions when selecting roles and his blatant overacting suggests that films like Post Grad are the only ones still clamoring to employ him. Perhaps his upcoming role as the voice of Ken, Barbie’s longtime plastic companion, in the highly-anticipated Toy Story 3 can remind audiences why we liked him in the beginning and, even more importantly, remind him that it is beneficial to be selective when choosing roles.
Post Grad seems to be composed of one miscalculation after another. Certainly, none of the actors should have ever dared to touch this material, and director Vicky Jenson, best known for co-directing Shrek (the first film to win the Academy Award for “Best Animated Feature”) and Shark Tale, would have done well to steer clear of making this film her second live-action project. She is able to direct Post Grad with able clarity, creating a polished-looking and solid-feeling film. The problem is not in the director or most of the cast, but in the simply sophomoric screenplay by Kelly Fremon. It relies on every cliché imaginable to pad its already scant runtime and, unfortunately, underemphasizes its main idea. I didn’t know how Ryden would cope without a job and practically without a life whatsoever, but I knew from the very first moment that the film introduced her doting best friend, Adam (Gilford), that they would end up in love. Sadly, their relationship is at the center of the entire film.
I’ll tell you exactly what would have changed my mind about Post Grad. There comes a moment in the film when Ryden must choose either Adam, the friend she always demanded was “just a friend,” or her Brazilian neighbor, David (Rodrigo Santoro, another actor who should have known better), who she actually does have intimate feelings for. Formula demands that she choose Adam; the best friend almost always ends up being the true love in disguise. In fact, I quite liked Adam as a character. Zach Gilford plays him with complete sincerity and utter dignity, lacking the over-the-top zaniness that plagued much of the rest of the cast. Still, Ryden insisted that she did not love him and only wanted to be best friends. When she chooses him, it feels as though she is solely choosing to follow formula, rather than choosing the person she really loves. Had she booked a flight to Brazil to find David, I believe this review would have gone differently.
Prior to viewing Post Grad, I had a theory that is as follows: no film featuring the charms of Alexis Bledel, Jane Lynch, and the great Carol Burnett could ever be bad. Needless to say, I was very wrong. In fact, these three talented ladies come off looking worse than anyone else involved in this film’s production. They are just too talented and intelligent to choose material as bad and as thoroughly boring as this. Michael Keaton, on the other hand, has become notorious for making poor decisions when selecting roles and his blatant overacting suggests that films like Post Grad are the only ones still clamoring to employ him. Perhaps his upcoming role as the voice of Ken, Barbie’s longtime plastic companion, in the highly-anticipated Toy Story 3 can remind audiences why we liked him in the beginning and, even more importantly, remind him that it is beneficial to be selective when choosing roles.
Post Grad seems to be composed of one miscalculation after another. Certainly, none of the actors should have ever dared to touch this material, and director Vicky Jenson, best known for co-directing Shrek (the first film to win the Academy Award for “Best Animated Feature”) and Shark Tale, would have done well to steer clear of making this film her second live-action project. She is able to direct Post Grad with able clarity, creating a polished-looking and solid-feeling film. The problem is not in the director or most of the cast, but in the simply sophomoric screenplay by Kelly Fremon. It relies on every cliché imaginable to pad its already scant runtime and, unfortunately, underemphasizes its main idea. I didn’t know how Ryden would cope without a job and practically without a life whatsoever, but I knew from the very first moment that the film introduced her doting best friend, Adam (Gilford), that they would end up in love. Sadly, their relationship is at the center of the entire film.
I’ll tell you exactly what would have changed my mind about Post Grad. There comes a moment in the film when Ryden must choose either Adam, the friend she always demanded was “just a friend,” or her Brazilian neighbor, David (Rodrigo Santoro, another actor who should have known better), who she actually does have intimate feelings for. Formula demands that she choose Adam; the best friend almost always ends up being the true love in disguise. In fact, I quite liked Adam as a character. Zach Gilford plays him with complete sincerity and utter dignity, lacking the over-the-top zaniness that plagued much of the rest of the cast. Still, Ryden insisted that she did not love him and only wanted to be best friends. When she chooses him, it feels as though she is solely choosing to follow formula, rather than choosing the person she really loves. Had she booked a flight to Brazil to find David, I believe this review would have gone differently.
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