Whatever

Yes, this is a "real" movie. It's certainly not getting the attention of the mainstream Hollywood summer blockbusters but it's a lot more powerful and enjoyable.

Synopsis: The story takes place in a working class new jersey suburb set in 1981 and centers on a young woman, Anna Stockard played by newcomer Liza Weil. Anna, in her senior year of high school, comes from a broken family, hangs out with the party crowd and is uncertain of her future. Although seemingly intelligent and artistic, she lacks focus. It's unclear if Anna will end up like her hard drinking and drugging friends or fulfill her ambition to go to art school in New York City.

The film was written and directed by New Jersey native Susan Skoog and unlike other films about the 80's (e.g., Boogie Nights), "Whatever" provides a very realistic view of this era. The clothing, hair styles, slang, and music all represent the suburban early 80's not the Hollywood version.

Although many of the characters are unappealing, the film still manages to capture you. I was both riveted and disturbed by it. Weil carries the film by playing Anna with a stoic integrity - you sense that she is a survivor. Skoog has created a film where you feel as if there was a hidden camera viewing a real teenager's life back in 1981. Skoog and Weil appear to have promising careers ahead of them.

If you want to see asteroids, bombs, fireballs and explosions, the 10 plex has a whole bunch of them. If you want to see a movie that is affecting, albeit, slightly disturbing, drive a little further and checkout "Whatever ".

I don't think I'd ever heard of this film, but it caught my eye in a table of used videos for sale. I enjoy the TV show Gilmore Girls and recognized Liza Weil on the cover. What a gem this film is! It's not "entertaining" like most escapist films, it's a fairly realist look into the life of a girl who may have a future or who may slide into a miserable life of drugs and drink, perhaps even crime. I found it engrossing, and marveled at Liza Weil, so little utilized in the TV programs I've seen her in. Frederick Forrest also stands out as an enthusiastic art teacher, and I enjoyed how the ex-con was more than a stereotype.

What a movie!!! A pleasant surprise I caught purely by accident the other night on the Sundance channel. As a person who was 13 in 1981, this movie struck a chord in me that wasn't just nostalgia. Most of the characters were memorable and more than just a little familiar to me; Ana, VERY real, I knew half a dozen girls like her, including me. Her English professor, the spiteful and vindictive Mr. Stanley, who didn't have a pain in the ass teacher like this? All of the various heads, drunks and sluts that flocked to Friday night keggers and house parties. Even her ever-hopeful, yet terribly sad mother was a brilliant touch. The script was so well written, in that, while there wasn't much of a real storyline, a few days in the life really, even the secondary characters were anything but one dimensional.

I loved the soundtrack as well, not only did it make me want to break out some of my highschool vinyl, it did a great job of enhancing scenes without taking over and drowning out the actors.

The best thing about this movie though, no FAKE, sugary Hollywood ending!

I thought this film was a thoughtful reflection on an overlooked period of time. The significance of it's taking place in 1981 was the last hurrah of the "Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll" era. AIDS soon followed, and casual sex died. The sex is a big part of the story, a realistic portrayal of a teenage girl's struggles with her newborn womanhood.

The peer pressure to do drugs, smoke, and have crazy meaningless/meaningful sex, all induced by the young idiots around her, happens to most American kids. Anna's dreams of art school are nearly crushed by the combination of her friends, her lonely, pathetic mother, and the usual teenage self-deprecation. It's not hard at all to relate to this character.

It seems that this movie was too subtle for some viewers. Perhaps some people don't want to know the female side of stories we've seen the male counterparts of (quite redundantly) through the years. I welcomed the fresh point-of-view the film possesses. My only true beef would be that it may have been a little too long, but then again, wasn't this writer/director Susan Skoog's first film?

A good film with fine direction of realistic performances (with the exception of the "nerdy" teacher - ugh) and a nice accompanying soundtrack. Overall, I liked it quite a bit.

Whatever is a great slice-of-life coming of age story, this time about two young girls in their last year of high school. One girl is awkward looking and shy, but talented with a bright future as an artist. The other is prettier and popular, but not really destined for much. Both live their formative years in a backwater New Jersey suburb and their lives are far less polished and sanitized than those portrayed in most teenage coming of age films these days (TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, SHE'S ALL THAT, etc...) This film is gritty and real and the characters are powerful. It's hailed as a great 'chick flick" because it's focus is these two girls, but it's more than that.

I thought they did a great job portraying a realistic world. Hell, the high school party scene was stolen right out of my life! ;)

In any case, the acting is superb. The two girls, Anna and Brenda are played by Liza Weil (Stir of Echoes, A Cur for Serpents) and Chad Morgan (Co-Ed Call Girl). They find themselves looking for their own identity in the midst of messed-up family lives and peer pressure. Anna's the daughter of a single mother who works as a waitress and has affairs with rich married men to help support her kids. Brenda suffers through years of sexual abuse at the hands of her step-father. Both find escape and comfort in their pursuit for adulthood -- hopping from one new experience to the next in search of themselves. Drugs, sex, lawlessness... all of these things become part of their lives, and things which they must overcome in order to survive.