The Go-Getter

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.

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.

I saw this at the Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuck, Michigan.

Teenager Mercer steals a car and takes off across the wester United States to ease some of his recent personal grief. While driving, he makes an unusual connection with the girl he stole the car from, talking with her on the phone as he travels.

Written and directed by Martin Hynes and starring Lou Talor Pucci (Thumbsucker), Zooey Deschanel(Elf), and Jena Malone (Saved!), the film is actually very good. After first viewing it, I wasn't sure what to think about it, I didn't really get much out of it. But now, a few days after seeing it, it's actually stuck with me. There are some great scenes throughout the film. It does drag at some moments, but when the film was over, I looked back and realized without those dragging scenes, it wouldn't have possible to tell some of the next scenes.

The acting was great, with this and Thumbsucker, I'm really looking forward to seeing more of Pucci's work. I particularly love the scenes with him on the phone with Zooey, the owner of the car. The two are so perfect together, even though they have never met in person. But the director does a wonderful during those phone scenes, making it more than just two people talking on a phone.

The soundtrack is great. Songs from M. Ward, Elliott Smith, The Black Keys, and The Replacements, they all fit in perfectly with the film.

The director Martin Hynes was at the festival and he was extremely nice and helpful. I talked to him a lot of over the weekend (I feel kind of bad, I talked to him so much he was probably sick of seeing me). But he one of the nicest guys I've met at the festival over the years. I wish him all the best and am looking forward to seeing his next projects.

He had some great stories to tell about the making of the film. One actor in particular managed to get himself cast as three different characters in the film.

Search out this film, see it, then spread the word.

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.

Mercer steals a car to track down his loser half-brother only to forge an unrealistic "bond" with the car's owner. Along the way he finds his way through a number of "quirky" encounters that help him appreciate his life and grow.

There are some very neat camera tricks and shots, especially how they "show" the phone conversations between Mercer and the woman from whose car is now in his possession. However, much of the film is shot using a poor hand held technique that can dizzy up the audience, something fierce. I too saw this at AFF and walked out due to motion sickness and a general lack of caring about the characters and story.

I found this movie to be awfully trite and derivative of other indie dramedies. The script is dreadful as characters react to in random and pointless ways. It read more like a parody of "quirky indie dramadies" than it actually is one. People do not act and talk the way the characters do in this film, the script limps along from improbable scenario to another, helped by weak performances and characters who are never fully realized. Zooey Deschanel comes across as creepy in her initial conversations with Mercer.

If this is what makes an indie hit, the movement is clearly losing steam.