Une fille à la page

Take your average brainless romantic comedy, that is fluffy but entertaining enough, that gives a few laughs. Formula food for movie goers. Remove the comedy, and then remove any believable romance. What do you have remaining? Not even drama. It is nice to see Sarah Michelle Gellar in something, and she is a fine enough actress. Alec Baldwin, stock rising after 30 Rock, was not the right choice for this 'story', and between them they cannot save a weak script or inject anything of interest. They are not convincing of love, nor even interact in any interesting way. Nor are there any compensatory laughs. The plot is a straight forward slice-of-life of a girl who meets an older man, and shacks up with him. What happens in the end? Nothing to care about.

how inventive...Not! This movie was so stereotypical. Alec Baldwin plays rich publishing editor, Archie Knox, whom has lots of exs, a daughter that won't talk to him and he's an alcoholic. Brett is an upcoming editor and so is awe struck with Archie. She meets him at a book signing of one of his authors. She realizes her boyfriend is too childish for her, so dumps him and takes up with Archie, whom's twice her age. The age difference is very creepy. And of course Archie has his problems, mainly with drinking and you know how that will end. A side plot involves Brett's father whom is sick. There really wasn't much too it.

FINAL VERDICT: Not worth seeing.

Unlike the Europeans, Hollywood has never been comfortable with May-December romances. One film after another they throw the 50-something Daniel Auteuil into the arms of a 20-something babe without explanation or apology and we sit in the cinema never questioning the logic of it. When it comes to Hollywood, it is either a tragedy or a morality tale. Jack Nicholson can only be redeemed by settling for a woman near his age at the end of Something Has to Give.

Suburban Girl has an intelligent script that manages to sidestep such apologia. It also doesn't try to dilute the issue or make the motives of its main characters nobler than what they are. The December character (Alec Baldwin in excellent self-parodying mode) is a diabetic and recovering alcoholic. He is also a self-confessed womanizer and an absentee father with serious daughter issues. The May of the film (Sarah Michelle Gellar acting as if she is using the film as personal therapy) is a father-worshiper and has no qualms about allowing the older man to use his influence to better her career. It is all too real. It is a pity that Mark Klein directs the film like an afternoon romance for Hallmark channel – without flair or imagination, and that Alec Baldwin's personal life interfered unnecessarily with the screening. The unevenness of the directorial treatment might alienate the mainstream audience that seem to prefer their comedies separate from their dramas. The script skilfully avoids the known clichés without taking too many risks. The sweet-sour ending will also add to the audience confusion.

Supporting roles are cleverly underplayed by a competent ensemble. Maggie Grace, one of the early casualties of the TV hit Lost, is surprisingly effective in a role that seems to have been written for her.

If you could include every formulaic scene between an older man and a young women it would surely be Suburban Girl. Quirky advice giving best friend--check Super smart girl climbing up the job ladder=check Older millionaire bachelor=check family with conflict=check hip NYC parties=check montage of couple having fun to shortcut developing relationship =check

If you have tried Ambien and it didn't help you sleep..just watch this movie guaranteed to put you to sleep and wake up refreshed knowing you didn't waste 120 minutes watching this completely banal piece of twice baked digital film. There weren't enough montages ...we need more montages of Alec Baldwin and Sarah to drive the point home that they are having sooo much fun. Oh wait..include a hip soundtrack to help substitute good writing and acceptable acting ....yeah thanks ...I'm buying it now. Hey Alec you're 49, lose weight porky.. You have millions..can't you pay someone to eat for you??

This movie could have been good if it hadn't already been made so many times before. The concept of a young girl who feels lost and finds a connection with an older man is hardly new.

The actors play well - as one would expect from professionals - and if one is a fan of either Alec Baldwin or Sarah Michella Gellar; one might consider watching the movie just for that.

Where it all goes wrong is in the narrative. The movie tries delivering something that it just can't deliver. While the actors as such play their roles fine, the viewer is never really caught by them. The roles are flat and one is left with a feeling of "who cares". There are a few elements in the movie that obviously entertains, but they all seem stereotypical in a way that gets boring very quickly.

This is a movie that you can watch if you are having some friends over and needs some background noise, or if you are baking bread and do not want to bother with pausing the movie every time you have to go to the kitchen.