Whatever

Yes, this is a "real" movie. It's certainly not getting the attention of the mainstream Hollywood summer blockbusters but it's a lot more powerful and enjoyable.

Synopsis: The story takes place in a working class new jersey suburb set in 1981 and centers on a young woman, Anna Stockard played by newcomer Liza Weil. Anna, in her senior year of high school, comes from a broken family, hangs out with the party crowd and is uncertain of her future. Although seemingly intelligent and artistic, she lacks focus. It's unclear if Anna will end up like her hard drinking and drugging friends or fulfill her ambition to go to art school in New York City.

The film was written and directed by New Jersey native Susan Skoog and unlike other films about the 80's (e.g., Boogie Nights), "Whatever" provides a very realistic view of this era. The clothing, hair styles, slang, and music all represent the suburban early 80's not the Hollywood version.

Although many of the characters are unappealing, the film still manages to capture you. I was both riveted and disturbed by it. Weil carries the film by playing Anna with a stoic integrity - you sense that she is a survivor. Skoog has created a film where you feel as if there was a hidden camera viewing a real teenager's life back in 1981. Skoog and Weil appear to have promising careers ahead of them.

If you want to see asteroids, bombs, fireballs and explosions, the 10 plex has a whole bunch of them. If you want to see a movie that is affecting, albeit, slightly disturbing, drive a little further and checkout "Whatever ".

I don't think I'd ever heard of this film, but it caught my eye in a table of used videos for sale. I enjoy the TV show Gilmore Girls and recognized Liza Weil on the cover. What a gem this film is! It's not "entertaining" like most escapist films, it's a fairly realist look into the life of a girl who may have a future or who may slide into a miserable life of drugs and drink, perhaps even crime. I found it engrossing, and marveled at Liza Weil, so little utilized in the TV programs I've seen her in. Frederick Forrest also stands out as an enthusiastic art teacher, and I enjoyed how the ex-con was more than a stereotype.

Whatever is a great slice-of-life coming of age story, this time about two young girls in their last year of high school. One girl is awkward looking and shy, but talented with a bright future as an artist. The other is prettier and popular, but not really destined for much. Both live their formative years in a backwater New Jersey suburb and their lives are far less polished and sanitized than those portrayed in most teenage coming of age films these days (TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, SHE'S ALL THAT, etc...) This film is gritty and real and the characters are powerful. It's hailed as a great 'chick flick" because it's focus is these two girls, but it's more than that.

I thought they did a great job portraying a realistic world. Hell, the high school party scene was stolen right out of my life! ;)

In any case, the acting is superb. The two girls, Anna and Brenda are played by Liza Weil (Stir of Echoes, A Cur for Serpents) and Chad Morgan (Co-Ed Call Girl). They find themselves looking for their own identity in the midst of messed-up family lives and peer pressure. Anna's the daughter of a single mother who works as a waitress and has affairs with rich married men to help support her kids. Brenda suffers through years of sexual abuse at the hands of her step-father. Both find escape and comfort in their pursuit for adulthood -- hopping from one new experience to the next in search of themselves. Drugs, sex, lawlessness... all of these things become part of their lives, and things which they must overcome in order to survive.

It wasn't originally my intent to comment on this film, but, after seeing some of the idiotic postings denigrating this fine effort, I felt compelled.

I was rather taken aback by the honesty of this tale. To quibble about the automobiles or the Hardee's cups shows such a lack of perception as to what was attempted here, that it truly boggles the mind.

The dissenting voices here clearly prefer the artificial, rose-colored-glasses view of high school as offered by "Sixteen Candles" or other films of John Hughes. But, for most, and maybe this realization only becomes apparent once one has some significant distance from one's high school experience, for most the high school experience is NOT a star-spangled memory a la "Ridgemont High", "Dazed and Confused", or even "American Graffiti".

These formulative years, more often than not, are times of discovery, of embarrassment, of confusion. and of long stretches of boring and mundane matters.

Writer/director Skoog captured, with no illusion whatsoever, the awkwardness of this period, with the realism and honesty worthy of of a Ken Loach or Mike Leigh. For most people, life is NOT "Ten Things I Hate About You", it is about self-discovery and awareness, and sorting out one's rightful place in the human equation. Skoog's two main characters superbly realized this human comedy.

Anna is a beautiful, talented young girl who has not come to grips with either her talent nor her beauty. She is so easily buffeted by the forces surrounding her, be it her bad-girl best friend or the men who are more than willing to introduce her to the awkwardness of sexual initiation, that it is often heartbreaking to watch.

The fact of the matter is that bad things happen to good people, and in watching Anna attempt to navigate her way through her voyage of discovery, the film subtly explores its themes with rare honesty.

The treatment of sexuality is amongst the film's strongpoints. The peer pressure to conform and the curiosity of the unknown is explored with sensitivity. The bare boobs approach of most teen films is abandoned here for a heartfelt examination of the myriad of forces that are involved in human sexuality...the various dynamics, be they sexual or power, that make the experience a lot more than just a procreative act.

These aren't "characters", these are living, breathing people with inexplicable, self-destructive urges as well as a completely realistic complacency that often allows them to be drawn into situations that are not in their best interests.

This is one of the finest coming-of-age films I have ever seen. If you are a mature, perceptive cinema lover without need for an artificial, romanticized approach to the teen experience, do yourself a favor and check out, "Whatever".

The most striking thing about this movie was the depth of the characters. Maybe it's because I'm a child of the Eighties, but I recognized everybody in the movie from my adolescence. (There was actually one exception. The english teacher wasn't like anybody I've ever met.) I've rarely seen a movie populated with characters who were this realistic.

Which brings up the second reason I really liked this movie. The situations the characters found themselves in were very realistic. I like stories about teenagers who thwart gangs of smugglers as much as the next guy, but it was a nice change to watch a movie about real people dealing with real life. It was sort of like a Lifetime chick flick, but with almost all of the melodrama removed so you can enjoy it.