Girlfriend

Please give me back the 90 minutes I wasted on this over-hyped hack job. I can't believe that this thing actually got made. The acting and accents were weak at best. I assume the twilight link was why it got picked for the festival, but we've all seen how well the twilight cast member's (Rob & Kristen) other films have done this year. A studio exec sitting next to me left after fifteen minutes. He looked over at me and rolled his eyes as if to say "give me a break." Unfortunately, now I have to write a review and send it to my editor before midnight California time. I've seen some great films this weekend but this wasn't one of them. Don't waste your time or money.

Evan Grey (Evan Sneider) has Down syndrome. He lives and works with his mom Celeste (Amanda Plummer). Their boss isn't happy with his work. He's in love with single mom Candy (Shannon Woodward). She struggles to get money from her violent possessive baby-daddy Russ (Jackson Rathbone). She's involved with Kenny which drives jealous Russ crazy. Celeste dies and relatives give Evan some money to buy food. Instead, he gives it to Candy and wants her to be his girlfriend.

This is not the normal uplifting Down syndrome movie. Evan Sneider does a great job. There are a lot of awkward motivations. It's very troubling to watch Evan being manipulated. Candy is pushed to make compromises. I applaud trying to make something complex with a mentally handicap character but this is an uncomfortable movie. Combining sexuality and the mentally handicap is a high risk proposition in a movie.

First, I'm not part of the cast or crew. I'm not "affiliated" with the film in any manner. I watched it at the 2011 Down Syndrome Congress National Convention, and I thought it was well worth the time.

Interestingly enough, I wouldn't classify it as a "Down Syndrome" film. I believe it will be just as entertaining and worthwhile to people who have no affiliation with Down as it is to those who do. It's a solid story that highlights some very believable situations.

The situations related to Down are very poignant, despite not being the focus of the movie -- Evan's ability to care for himself barely scrapes "minimal." He doesn't have the acumen to deal with an antagonistic boss, he makes some very poor financial choices, and at times he simply wanders off in a child-like manner. However, when his mother dies, he's left without any kind of caretaker. Unfortunately, his situation is anything but a flight of movie fancy; it happens every day.

Still, Evan, Down Syndrome, and Evan's uncertain future aren't the focus of the film. Candy brings in another very realistic element: a single mother struggling financially, stuck in an abusive relationship after making some poor relationship choices.

I thought the acting was quite good. In particular, Candy's reaction to Evan's infatuation (and the depth of his infatuation) was superb. Jackson Rathbone did well as Russ, too -- with Russ being such a jerk, it would have been easy to make him a caricature "bad guy." Real people are never that one-dimensional, though, and Rathbone added to the realism of the movie by showing some real internal conflict. Yes, Russ is a jerk, but part of that personality is the result of some internal vulnerability and real world events.

And Evan Sneider was excellent. Another reviewer complained that Evan was "obviously coached." Well, yes, that's what director do. They coached Katherine Hepburn, they coach Tom Cruise, they coach William H. Macy, and I'm sure Justin Lerner coached Evan. Both Justin and Evan did a fine job.

The filming itself was great. I was really impressed by how well the choice of shots emphasized the characters' personalities or relationship with the world.

I'm pretty surprised at the snide comments from some of the other reviewers, particularly intimations that this subject matter is somehow "overdone." One reviewer mentions "Life Goes On" -- news flash, folks, that series wrapped up 17 years ago. And the idea that "Girlfriends" is exploitive is ludicrous. The fact that Evan's character is mentally challenged is essential to the plot.

Overall, this was an excellent film and certainly worth taking the time to watch.

Girlfriend is the first full-length film from writer/director Justin Lerner. I first met him and reviewed his impressive short The Replacement Child at the 2008 Santa Barbara Film Festival, so I was eagerly awaiting his first feature. It's an auspicious debut for this talented young director and it far exceeded my expectations.

The film stars Evan Sneider (The Replacement Child), Shannon Woodward (The Haunting of Molly Hartley), Jackson Rathbone (The Twilight Saga), and Amanda Plummer (Pulp Fiction).

Evan Sneider plays Evan, a young man with Down's Syndrome who longs for a girlfriend and the kind of rich life he believes he's always been entitled to. He never sees himself as a victim or as someone with an affliction, in need of pity or special treatment. Evan has a big heart and just wants someone to share it with besides his doting mother Celeste (Amanda Plummer). She lives for him and he lives for her. The object of his affection is Candy (Shannon Woodward), who still harbors feelings for her abusive ex-boyfriend Russ (Jackson Rathbone) as she searches for someone to provide for her young son.

Unexpected circumstances send Evan down an unimaginable road, one which keeps the viewer twisting and turning, never knowing whether his next encounter will provide comfort or danger. Empathy for him plants the seeds of discomfort and the ensuing suspense builds throughout the film.

Girlfriend truly has the sparse look and gritty feel of the "sweet little American indie" that I search for at festivals. Natural lighting is used where possible, and flashy visual effects are kept to a minimum. The viewer simply observes as the story unfolds. Quyen Tran's skillful cinematography takes full advantage of the film's claustrophobic settings by shooting through windows and doorways -- the technique known as frame within a frame -- rather than crowding the characters. To provide depth, Lerner and Tran devised a plan whereby each actor would be filmed a certain way -- Evan with closeups, Rathbone with a long lens -- and it's strikingly effective in its elegance.

The use of long takes without dialogue is one of the most powerful elements of this film. Periods of silence can often say more than words on a script as the viewer is forced to create the conversation in his own head. Actors who can communicate through facial expressions and simple gestures don't need lines to have an impact on the audience. It's one of the most impactful and dramatic techniques used in Girlfriend and left me with a sense of wonder.

If you could hear a gem it would have the poignant music scored by lead actor Rathbone's band 100 Monkeys. The members of the band -- Rathbone, Jerad Anderson, M. Lawrence Abrams, Ben Johnson, and Ben Graupner -- scored and wrote original songs for the film. The bond between the writers and the project is apparent -- Rathbone stars and serves as co-producer, Anderson also acts and produces -- and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

It's always hard to single anyone out in such a brilliant ensemble cast but this is clearly Evan Sneider's film. It was written for him and with much love, and it shows. There's no discerning whether or not the plot is based on experiences he's had in real life. Far from being exploitative, Lerner's narrative never uses Evan's condition as a crutch (and neither does Evan). The story would work even if the character didn't have Down's Syndrome, and that's a testament to Lerner's knowledge of, and sensitivity about, the issue.

Shannon Woodward puts her heart and soul into the role of Candy. One can almost feel her emotional pain as she struggles to put food on the table and keep a roof over her son's head. The viewer is equally spiteful toward Russ, a first class villain who never shows a tender side except in deception. Rathbone's spiteful portrayal is in stark contrast to the goodness surrounding most of the characters. He is evil personified. Amanda Plummer's star turn as Evan's mother Celeste is simply heartwrenching. It's clear that Lerner gave his actors free reign to improvise. It works because they clearly have developed working relationships based on trust -- with the filmmaker as well as castmates. The unscripted dialogue sounds authentic because it's real.

This movie about (and starring) a young man with Down's Syndrome has some scenes which may make audiences uncomfortable but, to me, that's one of the definitions of true art -- it moves you, makes you happy, sad, angry -- it affects you emotionally on a deeply personal level. Girlfriend can be hard to watch at times but is one of those films that deserves the label "important."

Please don't waste anymore of our time with this drab. It's apparent that the actors or crew members are posting reviews. That or they're emailing friends and begging them to post a review. I wish I could say something good about this movie but I can't. I'm glad it's over is about that only good thing I can say. My girlfriend and I read about this "project" and thought we would spend our Sunday night at the Tornoto Film Festival seeing something heartwarming and genuine. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. The writing was awful, most of the acting was forced and there were too many holes in the plot to keep track of. I know I'm supposed to like it but no one else in the audience seemed to like it either. After the movie, I heard at least three or four groups of people laughing about what a waste of time it was. Luckily we saw several other great films at the festival that made it worth while. The festival should have given this film a much later time slot so less people would have wasted their time. My girlfriend works in the industry and she wanted to leave 20 minutes into the movie. Sorry guys the movie doesn't work. Excuse any typos - I didn't want to waste anymore time on this movie than I already have.