The Graduates

This film is so much better than any of those crappy gross-out teen movies they throw at us every summer. When did the characters in American Pie actually learn something worthwhile and maybe even grow up a little?

Nick Vegara is the hottest unknown I've seen in a long time. Hats off to these guys for discovering him. I can't wait to see where he goes. Incredibly sweet performances are also given by Josh Davis and Rob Bradford as the two mismatched brothers.

The guys who made this movie are smart, funny and clearly CARE about telling not just a smart, funny story, but also one that MEANS something and GOES somewhere. Love it.

I'm 39, happily married, three kids, all between 5-10 years old. I watched the sneak preview on a Saturday night sitting in my pj's and laughed out loud probably twenty times. To the point my wife actually watched a little. She watched up to the point where Nickie said he wanted to dunk the girl's head in the toilet, she left at that point.

I think you have to step back and watch the whole thing without thinking about Superbad or the other high school comedy movies that come out because this is a different thing, this is an old school film not a new school movie. Something really special here, and I know because I keep saying "alright, I gotta go inside and get ****ed up real quick, then I'll drive you wherever you want..." It's a smart-alec comedy, which I like.

The Graduates shows a bright future in the magnificent talent of writer/director Ryan Gielen. A brilliant, well written coming of age film takes you on a roller-coaster of emotions, that comes to a halt with a great message that will certainly make you think! Nick Vergaga offers a standout performance as the best bud, Mattie, but I'm not saying that the entire cast didn't offer a spectacular performance. That would be farthest from the truth. On many occasions, this reminded me a little bit about my own journey, enlightening me through their deep conversations, or experiences. You will not be disappointed with this movie! It's a must-see!!!!

Though independent and "low budget", what others have deemed "staged" and "faked" (perfect "in frame" shots), seems to be a disguised complement on the quality of camera work for an "amateur" production!

The characters are realistic representations of people we all knew (maybe even were) throughout high school.

The cast seemed well selected (from looks/costuming/etc) for their "parts". The main characters, are not the "beautiful", "popular", "jocks"..... they are the other ones, the ones that weren't "popular" per se', but weren't outcasts.

Remember that beautiful girl that everybody wanted? How about the "nice girl" who fell in love with her best friend? Or (my favorite) the "dead beat" older brother who still is scarred from his first time having sex.

Yes, there are a few clichés but really.....they're clichés for a reason. BECAUSE THEY'RE REAL!!!!

All the characters I could put names to my former schoolmates.

This was all-in-all a fun, nostalgic romp through what was an otherwise traumatizing time.

I'm not sure if those giving this movie such harsh reviews really paid attention to what (I thought) the movie was aiming for, or kept in mind that it's a low-budget, grassroots indie. It seems to me like it's trying to appeal equally to teens and adults: teens because it depicts something pretty true to their current experience and adults because it definitely tells the story through the perspective of an adult. By that I mean it's a little satirical and more realistic than a lot of teen comedies aimed just at teens.

I also didn't get the impression it was trying overtly to be a comedy. It was too realistic for that--yes, some scenes were funny or were meant to be funny, but only in the context that there is a lot of humor in the life of a 18-year-old (whether or not the kid's aware of it). It wasn't just going for cheap laughs.

Is this a perfect movie? No. Some areas could be improved: the trailer (doesn't create a lot of interest and gives away too much), one-dimensional female characters, some holes in the storytelling, for example. Is it clearly an indie? Oh, yes. But it does show a lot of promise on the part of the cast (especially the actors playing Josh, Mattie, Andy, and Megs) and the director. It's smarter and more thoughtful and mature than most teen movies (and thank god there's not some kind of freaking moral at the end or any form of makeover/lifechanging montage sequence). Knowing now that the budget was so small--I'm quite impressed. I'd like to see what they'd all do with a more developed screenplay and a larger budget. And the use of music was excellent; it really added to the storytelling.

Now I'm climbing on a soapbox, but for this genre I'd rather watch an imperfect but entertaining movie that's realistic and a little more grassroots than something overproduced, unrealistic, clichéd, and bloated.