Norman

Schlocky over done awkward teenagers in school routine...that goldberg guy is terrible as a teacher and even worse as a person...the only redeeming value this film shows is the adorable emily vancamp...i'm sure she sparkles in everything she does...people that gave this film venture a high rating were either investors or related family...if the lead guy playing norman was funny, i didn't laugh for a good reason, he wasn't funny...

Norman is standard and safe as it gets, which is to say that it does nothing new, and it's all a bit of a bore. In this regard it kind of adheres to your worst ideas about what constitutes an indie film. Dan Byrd was pretty okay in the lead role -- but I found something very surface-y about his performance, and, for that matter, in the movie itself. It's one of those movies that isn't really bold enough in its concept or execution. At the end you just ask yourself why it exists. I did enjoy the soundtrack, however, and as bizarre as it sounds I liked the poster art as well (that's what made me decide to watch this movie in the first place). But beyond that there is little to recommend here. Pass.

Norman Long (Dan Byrd) is a dissatisfied high school kid. He lost his mother and his father Doug (Richard Jenkins) is dying from cancer. He falls for new student Emily Harris (Emily VanCamp) and she's taken with his awkwardness. His teacher Mr. Angelo (Adam Goldberg) is forcing him to do a speech. He has a fight with his best friend James and tells him a crazy lie. Soon everybody at school thinks he has cancer.

I like Dan Byrd as an awkward sarcastic teen and Emily VanCamp is super cute. They're a little old to play high school kids but they could still pass. I like their sweet cute relationship and then there is the lie. It's such a weird thing to say. I wish the script adds more of a prompt for Norman to go to that place. Maybe James should ask if he's sick. Maybe James could find the scans first. I just need him to be guided there a little more. The other problem is that he's lying to Emily. Emily already likes him before the lie. The lie doesn't make her like him more. It just makes everything awkward. It would make more sense that he would tell her the truth. Of course, Norman doesn't have to make sense.

No matter your age, if Norman doesn't make you remember your own high school years it's time to pull out that old yearbook.

Mine were painful, though less so than his, and I laughed and cried with him along his journey from self disgust and boyhood to self respect and manhood. Never an easy task, Norman takes tough subjects and presents them with a strange combination of charm, dignity and sarcasm. Somehow it all works, and works beautifully. I'm not sure I've ever seen a more moving but tasteful, no cheap tricks, handling of love and loss. I highly recommend it to kids of all ages (17 and older of course given the R rating). And I'll be watching for more from this extremely talented creative team.

Also, I'll be seeing this one again...

colleen1011 AKA Colleen Shannon

Director Jonathan Segal did an excellent job creating this film. I recently saw this at Whitworth, in Spokane, WA where the film was shot, and I really enjoyed it. Jonathan Segal was kind enough to do a question and answer bit at the showing, which was very insightful. I really liked how the film was a little 'darker' than others covering similar story lines. The movie really captures the raw feelings and emotions that are dealt in the story line. The actors did an incredible job in capturing each characters' persona. Dan Byrd, Emily VanCamp, Richard Jenkins, and Adam Goldberg were all great picks for their characters. I would highly recommend this film to others, especially if you liked Easy A and Juno. I also have to mention how Andrew Bird's score on this film was crazy good.