Damsels in Distress

Damsels in Distress might be described as a romantic comedy. It's greatest value lays, however, in blending parody with social commentary. Roughly speaking, the college campus in the movie is divided into two camps: rich-but-uneducated and poor-but-unkempt. Between them are the main protagonists with Good Samaritan attitude. And none of the above are fully likable.

I guess that the parody is rather straightforward. The social commentary, on the other hand, might be too intellectual for the average viewer. This was obviously a conscious effort but apparently led to alienating mainstream audience. The reason I'm pointing this out is because in it's essence Damsels in Distress is in no way inferior to, for example, Judd Apatow's Knocked Up or The 40 Years Old Virgin.

This seems to be Whim Stillman's most focused effort to date: Gone are endless Woody Allen-esque dialogues better suitable for Off-Broadway than the big screen. The movie references some of Stillman's previous work, the most obvious being Gretta Gerwig as a surrogate Chloë Sevigny. But this is where i quit deep-diving and continued enjoying the movie.

Stillman's first feature in 13 years investigates the merciless social rules within a campus: it's fun, as wittily and entertainingly dialogued as his previous efforts, but way more off-beat and darkly screwballish. It almost plays as an intellectual version of cult favorite "Heathers" (it might be no coincidence if it also revolves around a bunch of co-eds named after flowers), sparing us the B-movieish third act of Michael Lehmann's film. Lots of fun, with a musical twist around the end that might be able to improve the film's chances to cult-ness.

I caught "Damsels in Distress" in Venice, where it was selected out of competition as the closing film for 2011's festival. Audience was quite appreciative, laughing out loud throughout the whole screening.

Few films recently have been able to capture my imagination like this one. With the glut of comic book films and remakes, very few people are making original films. I was not expecting much going into this film (I saw it at a festival). In fact I had not planned on seeing it, but it seemed "different" enough to warrant a watch. Well, I went in not knowing what to expect and came out with a big grin. I was happy I gave it a shot and was surprised by the other comment on here.

If you want to see something original, that has some break out actors, and is funny, then check out "Damsels in Distress." Days after I left the screening, I kept thinking back on the funny lines and comically earnest characters. Go in with an open mind and come out with a grin.

IMDb does not allow 8.5 stars, but that's my verdict. This goes into the category of films I'll be watching again once it hits the theaters.

'DAMSELS IN DISTRESS': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Quirky teen comedy-drama about three college girls who run a Suicide Prevention Centre and offer words of wisdom and advice to troubled new college students while also trying to deal with their own issues. It was written and directed by Whit Stillman (who also helmed the eccentric comedies 'THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO', 'BARCELONA' and 'METROPOLITAN'). It stars Greta Gerwig, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Carrie MacLemore, Analeigh Tipton and Adam Brody. The movie is pretty aimless and slow paced but it's also always amusingly strange and whimsical.

The story is set at an East Coast college named Seven Oaks where Violet (Gerwig), Rose (Echikunwoke) and Heather (MacLemore) attend. The college has a mostly male dominated tone, despite becoming coed several years earlier, and the women feel forced in to having to deal with brutish and dimwitted guys all the time. They run a Suicide Prevention Centre and are also constantly trying to recruit freshman girls in to their clique to educate them on the ways of the campus (as well as the world). This year's recruit is Lilly (Tipton). Lilly runs in to man troubles right away and the others try to help her deal with them while also dealing with their own.

The movie has no real direction or strong character objective. It just kind of follows these young girls around as they struggle with adapting to life. It's slow and will bore the hell out of some viewers but others will be quite entranced by it (and others somewhere in between). I found the dialogue to be quite witty and funny and I loved all of the performances. I also really enjoy how quirky and in love with individuality the film seems to be. To me that's a great message to send young viewers (if they actually see the film, it might have missed it's target audience). The movie is a quiet little piece of cinema joy if you let it be.

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Life, perhaps, in an allusion. Therefore, gentle reader, please move on to a different review if you don't smile in Pavlovian fashion when hearing uttered the name "Whit Stillman."

Recently I learned that Stillman's Last Days of Disco has yet to break even in sales. Alas, how long we NCAs (see below) have waited since they booked that clown! Damsels in Distress, gratefully, is scarcely stillborn-- rather, it's more Still. If you have worn laser holes into your Criterion-Collection copies of Metropolitan, Barcelona, and The Last Days of Disco, then Damsels will not disappoint. However, if you are unfamiliar with the signature dialogue, settings, motifs, and characters of this returned- to-America auteur, perhaps Damsels will disappoint. Here, I write for the initiates. (And for these, I whisper, "Watch closely: the professor and one of the two off-campus waitresses are familiar friends from the trilogy!")

What's to tell? There are four principle characters, all matriculated at Ivy-Shrouded Seven Oaks College after prepping in the usual way. While it is true that Greta Gerwig's Violet is the heroine, Carrie MacLemore as Heather, Megalyn Echikunwoke as Rose, and Analeigh Tipton as Lily make Damsels another ensemble piece.

I live in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, and while many who bedroom here commute to Manhattan, it is the home of Mack Trucks and Bethlehem Steel, which is sufficient explanation for why during both my first viewing of Metropolitan and of Damsels (in the selfsame indy- theatre complex), I annoyed many in the audience with my vulgar guffaws and howls of laughter while the rest of the moviegoers were silent.

Stillman, gratifyingly, is at the top of his game in Damsels. As with the trilogy, I will never grow tired of watching this film. I found Damsels as pitch-perfect as the trilogy, and while not so small- budgeted as Metropolitan, Damsels finds Stillman able to deadpan as much mirth as ever without the expenses of Disco. I do hope Mr. Stillman does not keep his Nearly Cultist Aficionados waiting so long before his next cinematic venture.

Neither my wife nor I were born with Stillman's or his characters' class prerogatives, and our Phi Beta Kappa keys from the familiar safety school of our locale--namely, Lehigh University--have done us absolutely no good for over thirty years, at least with respect to our wannabe aspirations, much like those of Luis Buñuel. We have an old poster of Barcelona on the wall of my workspace, which is slightly more commodious than a railroad-apartment's standard room.

While unfit to play croquet with either Mr. Stillman or Jamie Johnson, I wish to thank Mr. S. for bringing delight to those with the ears and eyes to hear and see. We do associate with Episcopalians, but none of these sired débutant progeny waiting in the Hamptons for the season to begin.