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The Go-Getter

  • 2007
  • R
  • 1h 33m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
5.3K
YOUR RATING
Zooey Deschanel, Jena Malone, and Lou Taylor Pucci in The Go-Getter (2007)
Home Video Trailer from Peace Arch Entertainment Group
Play trailer2:19
2 Videos
44 Photos
ComedyDrama

When his mother dies, a teenager takes a road-trip in a stolen car to find his long-lost brother. Along the way he discovers a profound connection with the car-owner and with himself as well... Read allWhen his mother dies, a teenager takes a road-trip in a stolen car to find his long-lost brother. Along the way he discovers a profound connection with the car-owner and with himself as well.When his mother dies, a teenager takes a road-trip in a stolen car to find his long-lost brother. Along the way he discovers a profound connection with the car-owner and with himself as well.

  • Director
    • Martin Hynes
  • Writer
    • Martin Hynes
  • Stars
    • Lou Taylor Pucci
    • Zooey Deschanel
    • M. Ward
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    5.3K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Martin Hynes
    • Writer
      • Martin Hynes
    • Stars
      • Lou Taylor Pucci
      • Zooey Deschanel
      • M. Ward
    • 15User reviews
    • 20Critic reviews
    • 69Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos2

    The Go-Getter
    Trailer 2:19
    The Go-Getter
    The Go-Getter
    Clip 2:21
    The Go-Getter
    The Go-Getter
    Clip 2:21
    The Go-Getter

    Photos44

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    Top cast26

    Edit
    Lou Taylor Pucci
    Lou Taylor Pucci
    • Mercer
    Zooey Deschanel
    Zooey Deschanel
    • Kate
    M. Ward
    M. Ward
    • J
    Judy Greer
    Judy Greer
    • >Toast
    Nick Offerman
    Nick Offerman
    • Dutch…
    Brian McNamara
    • Tape
    Jena Malone
    Jena Malone
    • Joely
    Erv Immerman
    Erv Immerman
    • Patient
    • (as Erv Immeman)
    Ann Ryerson
    Ann Ryerson
    • Visitor
    Julio Oscar Mechoso
    Julio Oscar Mechoso
    • Leone
    Alex Nicksay
    • Reagan
    Aaron Yamawaki
    • Anal
    • (as Aaron Mitchel)
    Michael Patterson-Crohn
    • Shaddup
    Marissa Ingrasci
    Marissa Ingrasci
    • Laurel
    Sita Young
    • Hardy
    William Lee Scott
    William Lee Scott
    • Rid
    Colin Fickes
    Colin Fickes
    • Buddy
    Bill Duke
    Bill Duke
    • Liquor
    • Director
      • Martin Hynes
    • Writer
      • Martin Hynes
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews15

    6.45.3K
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    Featured reviews

    9batudingin

    The Feelings are present

    You somehow can find it feeling good. I don't know why, but the females overpower mercer greatly. Which is not something you want in a movie. You want to root with the lead. But it just doesn't happen here. I wonder would people get the feeling that is conveyed at times. Because of the corny dialogue is a bit awkward and hard to understand why they makes the movie at all. Should have done better homework with the dialogue and monologue, that is all I have to say. And for an indie, it does a lousy job of capturing the landscape. One of the reason I watch indie flick is too see what the camera on big blockbuster cannot reach. Reality.

    In the end the acting is weirdly captivating. The males really suck, but adequate job I guess. Love all the females. And for an indie movie to want to make me watch the same movie 3 times in a week, this movie has somehow struck a dashing blow to my sweet spot. You really want to feel the journey doesn't matter that you already know the ending. Great movie. Should do more comedy lines with it but the score is well in used.
    10larry-411

    Road movie meets first love, a sweet delight

    I attended the world premiere of "The Go-Getter" at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. I'm not quite sure why, but this year's lineup seems to be heavy on heavy. I like a dark, moody melodrama as much as anybody, but whatever happened to the good old-fashioned road movie? I found the answer with "The Go-Getter." This film is all that and more. One part sweet love story, one part romantic comedy, and one part coming-of-age tale, "The Go-Getter" takes it all on the road and drives home a winning combination that will leave you smiling.

    Lou Taylor Pucci (Mercer) is a good kid, but one day he decides to chuck his bike and steal a car. I don't like to post spoilers, so I won't divulge more details other than to say that the trip on which he embarks will take him on a journey that would make "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" blush.

    Like any good road movie, he encounters one motley crew after another, a cast of characters all of whom get him just one step closer to the goal he seeks. But like a treasure hunt whose map takes him to places enticing enough to have him abandon his quest, he needs to keep his wandering eye on the prize. And oh, the temptresses who cause that eye to wander.

    Jena Malone is Joely, a sultry vixen (quite the change for Ms. Malone) who is determined to pop Mercer's cherry. What a breath of fresh air to see this versatile young actress take on such an empowering role. Women's Lib ain't over yet. Zooey Deschanel is Kate. It's her car he stole. And she is determined to get it back -- or is she? The "indie darling" gets her chance to shine here, and the tension that builds towards a possible reunion of car and owner holds this story together like a rope ties down a trunk when the lock is broken. We're never quite sure if it'll hold.

    And Lou Taylor Pucci has never been better in his role as the determined yet naive youth whose trusting nature and sense of wonder left me wanting to roll back the years to a time when everything was fresh and new. Pucci's sense of comedic timing and natural delivery is second to none, and while some of his dialog was indeed improvised, I was shocked to learn that the scenes which felt the most unscripted were, in fact, from the pen of writer/director Martin Hynes.

    In the Q&A after the screening here, I was fascinated to hear that a deliberate attempt was made to cast against type. As each of the three leads has a rabid following, Hynes' script was meant to give each actor's fan base something they had never seen before: Malone as Woman, Deschanel as glamour girl, and Pucci as, well, he got his hair cut, anyway. Hope and Crosby must be smiling at this winning team.

    M. Ward wrote the score, with original songs that left me wanting more. Licensing source material is pricey for an indie, but who needs hit singles when you have someone as talented as this brilliant composer? What a coup to bring him into this project. Byron Shah shot two films here at Sundance, "An American Crime" (which I saw as well) and "The Go-Getter." That alone says a lot about his eye for capturing this kind of character-driven story so well. Between Shah's photography, David Birdsell's editing, and Hynes' talent for allowing his actors to tell the story, "The Go-Getter" never wanders into pretentious indie territory. It stays accessible, which is why audiences will embrace this film wholeheartedly.

    "The Go-Getter" gets it right. It's warm and funny and sweet, and at this festival of doom and gloom, what a joy it was to travel down this road.
    9baPhatz

    An unlikely romance with great charm!

    This is one of the most sweet, romantic and entertaining (unlikely) love stories I have seen in years. This is a MUST see! Very highly recommended. The opening scene; main character Mercer describes how he feels stuck. He is dealing with the loss of his mother and has yet to spread her ashes. Half brother Arlen doesn't even know she died. Mercer decides to make a change in his life. Like Huckleberry Finn our "go-getter" sets out on an adventure. This road trip starts with a car. Of course stealing a car is very out of charter for Mercer and when he's contacted by the owner (cell phone left in car) he apologizes profusely and an unlikely relationship begins. She believes this situation is fate (in the end it does bring them together). Mercer is headed to Reno to find his brother but detours to find and old girl friend in Fallen. The road trip leads him through many states, detours, characters and life lessons, all the while led by a narrating series of conversations with the car owner who eventually catches up with him in Sacramento. Zooey Deschanel has a beautiful dreamy voice; her tone and her 'sweet girl next door' authenticity, is perfect for the role. I didn't know Lou Pucci before this but what a fantastic actor. The script is smart and touching and very heartfelt. The acting is sensational. Overall, this is a believable story with interesting lovable characters. A FANTASTIC indie Drama. Highly Recommended! Hope this is Helpful!
    9richard_sleboe

    Noted explorers

    Apologies everyone, but I am totally in love with Zooey Deschanel. She coos on the phone, she dances in black and white, she even sings on the soundtrack in that dreamy, sleepy voice of hers ("When I Reach the Border"). And she does it all with casual grace, not nearly trying half as hard as most other actresses her age. I cannot wait to see her as Janis Joplin in "The Gospel According to Janis". Director Martin Hynes teams her up with a slightly quirky, yet very charming male lead (Lou Taylor Pucci). They take the laughter and the tears as the off-beat script sends them on a somewhat unusual road trip in pursuit of his past and her future, taking viewers right back to that magical nowhere land between adolescence and adulthood. They even get to play the identity game ("20 questions") twice, two thirds into the story and, again, in the closing scene. Essentially, "The Go-Getter" gives you romance minus the usual cheese. Think "Rushmore" meets "Elizabethtown", with a soulful indie soundtrack. Notable off-screen guest appearance by Brian McNamara as the voice of the book on tape.
    9StarsDown

    Fantastic Cinematography and Acting Separate Film from the Pack

    On first glance the Go-Getter seems like another cliché coming of age road film but it does a great job of taking the familiar plot but focusing the film in an unique way. Lou Taylor Pucci plays Mercer a 19 year old who steals a car in order to inform his half brother he has not seen in many years that their mother has died. Mercer is all alone with no family but starts to strike up a unique friendship with Kate the women whose car he stole played by Zooey Deschanel who gives a wonderful performance and is one of the most talented and beautiful young actresses working today. The road trip is just a backdrop for developing the relationship between Kate and Mercer. Martin Hynes does a good job developing this relationship while at the same time juggling Mercer's journey to find his brother as well as his journey of self discovery. Hynes also shows some of his skill behind the camera by setting up some beautiful shots. There is a dream sequence where Mercer and Kate are running across a beach with cowboy hats shooting at each other with old western style cap guns in slow motion with wash out colors and a glaring sun. There is even a great Godard reference with a recreation of that fantastic dancing scene in Band of Outsiders in addition to jump cuts used when Mercer and Kate first meet under duress. The conversations between Mercer and Kate are well written and shot and make up the core of this film. These conversations happen over the phone and as the film progresses and the better they get to know each other these scenes are shot with the actors talking directly to each other but with their voices dubbed with how they sound coming out of the phone. There is an impressive soundtrack with many great indie rock songs to set the mood such as tons of songs from M. Ward (who has a small cameo), Black Keys, Animal Collective and even an Elliot Smith song. This film may look like the same in a long line of "quirky" indie films but the cinematography, unique structure and acting really give this film a polish some of its contemporaries may lack.

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    Related interests

    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Judy Greer and Martin Hynes had been friends before this film was made.
    • Quotes

      Mercer: [First lines] I always had a problem with Huckleberry Finn. I mean, I liked the story, I read it, but the river... it made me feel stuck.

    • Connections
      References Band of Outsiders (1964)
    • Soundtracks
      Banshee Beat
      Written by Joshua Dibb, Panda Bear, Avey Tare and Geologist

      Performed by Animal Collective

      Courtesy of Fat Cat Records

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    FAQ17

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 22, 2007 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • За удачей
    • Filming locations
      • California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Et Cetera Films
      • Fillmore
      • Two Roads Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $11,931
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $11,931
      • Jun 8, 2008
    • Gross worldwide
      • $11,931
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 33m(93 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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