Good Dick

Essentially a two-character play in three acts, "The Good Dick" strives for a different kind of modern take on relationships but doesn't quite hit the mark. Actress/writer/director Marianna Palka does not have much acting experience and it shows: she never allows us to see more than one note of her character and a pivotal scene with Tom Arnold as her father falls flat. Although this is a flawed movie, there is much to like here, however. Jason Ritter is the best thing about this thinly plotted indie "anti-romance." The scenes of Ritter and his video store pals (including Martin Starr, one Director Judd Apatow's regular players) provide a nice backdrop for the main romance. And, Ritter's desperate need for human connection feels sincere - you are rooting for him despite the seemingly impossible quest to reach Palka's damaged character. Viewers, however, may be let down at the end when things get wrapped up a bit too cleanly, like a bad Lifetime movie. I would have liked to see Palka's character struggle more with her own demons and find a way out that was less predictable and abrupt.

Creepy stalker boy meets unfriendly girl. Girl inexplicably lets boy move into her apartment provided he keep his distance and endure her verbal, emotional and sometimes physical abuse. He lives there alternating between pouting, yelling and insulting her. The film is well acted but the setup is not believable and the characters are annoying and unlikeable. The final 5 minutes explain the girl's behavior but too late to make the previous hour and 20 minutes worthwhile.

I absolutely loved this movie! Pulls me in, every time I watch it! I found myself thinking, how these characters are very much like the people I see around me everyday. Complicated, interesting, emotionally twisted, flawed human beings, just looking to be loved and accepted.

Some people, like the character that (Jason Ritter) plays, are an open page when it comes to giving their heart away. Eager to take risks at love, even if that means opening your heart to a load of pain. Like an addict, knowing full well the consequences that will have to be paid seeking out this alluring drug, nevertheless, they are driven to seek it out, like a moth to the flame...

Ritters character, has an innocent charm about him. A boyish lovable quality, that is undeniable. You can clearly see the flaws in him, but strangely, you look away, taking a risk on him, in the chance that he will redeem himself once again. He is relentless in his efforts to win the heart and attention of this emotionally damaged, and yet highly intelligent woman. How many people do we know like this is our own lives??? These irresistible charmers that seem to win their way into our hearts against our own better judgment?

Palka's character, clearly a highly intelligent woman, who can verbally bash a man into a bloody pulp, has been verbally and sexually abused by her father, since she was a little girl. We later see her emotionally unravel, as Ritters character, bravely tries to pull her out from her isolated world, breaking the routine of her dysfunctional patterns.

I am constantly reminded as I watch this film, how real these characters are! They are not unlike so many of the dysfunctional people around us. Misfit, loners, abused and wounded by the predators of this world, left to cope with the damage they leave behind. It takes tremendous courage to open your self up to love and healing, after such abuse and betrayal of trust has been broken. These two characters portray that there is hope in the healing power of love!

This film is definitely 'watchable.' Its the sort of film you start to watch expecting very little from but end up very satisfied you decided to 'give it a go.'

Marianna Palka who directed/wrote and stars in this is a fine actress who right at the start reminded me of Helena Bonham Carter for some reason (please feel free to disagree) - she is certainly a talent worth keeping a eye on.

Overall a good film that will leave you pleased you viewed it. Possibly better to rent than to go to the cinema, but that I suppose is my own interpretation!

Enjoy.

I didn't connect at all with this movie. Both characters are extremely cruel towards one another: he intimidates her into allowing him to spend the night, while she ridicules his life choices. The acting is fine but it's a dull script, without any momentum. The ending was a pile of confusion.