What is life? Hmm...at best, it's the years of annoyance between birth and death; or to quote George (Freddie Highmore) in The Art of Getting By, it's something to be feared. Not my answers, mind you, but George's outlook on life is less than rosie. Thus begins our story.
George lives in New York with his mom and step-dad. He's an ordinary, not-so-typical teen. (Yes, I realize this seems to be an obvious paradox, but we're talking about teen years here when you try so hard to carve out your own niche while simultaneously fitting in with EVERYONE ELSE!) At any rate, George's fatalistic attitude toward life has made him a bit...oh, how can this be put nicely...a bit socially awkward. Not that this result bothers him at all. It is life, after all, that he fears. His attitude and fatalistic philosophy has helped him nicely avoid life. Actually, he's avoided most everything. From homework to the notion of having friends, George has been skating by on the bare minimum of effort with no real results achieved. Along comes Sally (Emma Roberts). Sally is certainly a bit more functional than Georgy, but for whatever reason...be it intrigue, a challenge or boredom...she takes an interest in him. George welcomes this attention as hormones seem to usurp his need for social distance. Along the way, the two meet Dustin (Michael Angarano), a budding artist and alum of their school. From there, Dustin sort of mentors George in the ways of art and takes an even stronger interest in Sally. Yadayadayada a love triangle forms in the wake of George’s family upheaval and academic woes. All the while, coming to a front is a potential post graduation move for Sally as George just struggles to graduate.
It's okay. I'll go with 2.5 Stars on this one, which for you newbies means "Eh...it was so-so--falling on the downside of okay". I love this cast. Freddie Highmore is a very talented young actor, who I enjoyed in Finding Neverland, August Rush, and Spiderwick Chronicles. However, there was just something missing in this performance. I never really "felt" the connection that was supposed to be building between George and Sally. It always seemed to be a very flat relationship. When Sally is battling the ole "do I chose Dustin or George?" demons, you're left scratching your head as to why? Where was the real connection that would make such a choice even necessary?
Furthermore, I wondered throughout the flick, to what extent was I supposed to be liking George as this character progressed. He was actually fairly likable throughout and I wonder if he was supposed to be. Was I supposed to dislike the fatalistic, lazy George who had an obnoxious answer for everything? Because, quite frankly, I didn't dislike George. I actually liked him. Maybe I just know a few teens with similar attitudes who are very likable? Not sure. I do know that as we see what is supposed to be immense character growth, it comes across more like a character shift of sorts. He wakes up to realize that he can't constantly shirk responsibilities simply because to him those responsibilities are tied to a monotonous and meaningless existence.
All in all--it's okay, but nothing to run out and see Big Screen. Wait until November if any of this has struck a cord and watch it on Blu-Ray/DVD. As for me--I probably could've used this 83 minutes differently and had more fun, but then again, I did enjoy scrubbing down my orange cheesy fingers that seemed to glow in the dark from the cheddar popcorn...and the raspberry shake was awesome! As for me on this Saturday afternoon, there's no avoiding the lawn today. I've done everything from mow and weed-eat, to take care of the plants and trim the shrubs.
True...OUT!
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