User reviews

"Girl Walks Into a Bar" is made up of a bunch of connected scenes, each taking place in a different bar. These scenes are heavily dialog-driven (sometimes with internal dialog). Some of them work, some don't.

Most of the dialog is clever, well-written, and delivered by good actors. It's unrealistic and fast paced, with no time between a line and the response to that line. This is good entertainment, but if you get bored by dialog you'll get bored fast--there's no action here.

There's a sense throughout the movie that you're watching a long, fast paced joke. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but you start to wonder when the punchline is going to show up, which can be distracting.

Good movie overall, there's a lot of talent involved.

"Girl Walks Into a Bar" is, at once, both better and worse than it was marketed as: A witty comedy with a cast of strangers in inter-locking stories. It's the inter-locking stories part that gets disconcerting. That generally means we get too many loosely-related stories with too many characters that we barely get to know with meaningless plot lines that don't go anywhere. This movie isn't that, it's mostly better.

There are only two story lines, born from each other, with arguably two or three main characters. And the beginning totally gets us invested in them. Nick (Zachary Quinto) is sitting nervously at a bar and doesn't want anyone to join him because he's waiting for someone. Francine (Carla Gugino) is that someone; he just doesn't know that. Minutes later we suddenly have no one left to sympathize with when it is revealed that Nick is about to commit an unforgivable crime and Francine gives no concern to the lies she just said.

Henry (Aaron Tveit) walks into a bar and steals our attention back. He flirts with Francine and just for the fun of it, and steals her wallet. Our two story lines involve Nick on his mission of crime and the law enforcement on his tail while Francine is on the tail of Henry. Their night of adventure involves checking into a number of bars each with another person to meet. The cast list is quite the collection of talented, mostly recognizable names, but they have nothing to do. Sometimes they say things that are supposed to be clever but are not.

That's where the film is worse. The dialogue is not witty nor funny, and it should not be classified as a comedy. There were quite a few scenes which had actors saying crap that none of their characters should have said and which added no meaning or value to the film.

Then the movie ended with some kind of choreographed musical and dance number which didn't conclude anything. Almost unbeknownst to me, Nick's storyline was wrapped up in a previous scene (Josh Hartnett's only scene) but with one short, stupid phone call. Quinto can act, as can Hartnett, and a well written scene with confrontation was desperately needed. After the first two scenes, there was very little confrontation, and indeed revealed that you weren't watching much at all. "Girl Walks Into a Bar" seems visually interesting, with compelling lead characters, good acting and clever story lines but then doesn't really go anywhere.

Sebastian Gutierrez's 'Girl Walks Into A Bar' may not be the cleverest or wittiest of its kind but I found it very colourful, amusing and atmospheric. It captures the essence of nightlife in the city quite well. The sets and/or lighting are pleasantly colourful. The settings and situations appear to be colour-coded. The score and cinematography are effective. That's the technical side.

Now to the writing, it's quite alright. There's a certain noire style to it. The characters are quirky. Some situations and dialogues feel a little forced and some jokes fall flat (especially in the Robert Forster track) but otherwise the dialogue is quite funny and delivered well.

The acting isn't bad either. Carla Gugino is excellent and Emmanuelle Chriqui is brilliant, especially in her opening sequence. Amber Valetta and Aaron Tveit are quite good too. Alexis Bledel and Danny Devito are great in their single scene. Zachary Quinto, Rosario Dawson and Josh Hartnett are adequate.

Overall, 'Girl Walks Into A Bar' is a funny atmospheric semi-noire film. Not a classic but enjoyable nonetheless.

this movie is small in many ways, the scope is to romanticize the movie by setting it mostly in bars. none of the characters develop in any way, and it seems like the producers have not spent any time in either bars or strip clubs. it was like how an 8th grader might imagine the nightlife of adults

having said that, the actor playing Henry is very charming, alexis bledel is her excruciatingly adorable self even when delivering some fairly awful lines, robert forster nailed his character, amber valletta is so beautiful it hurts even while dressed as a lesbian, and carla gugino's sensuality strides over the whole production

oddly the best part of the movie is the very modest little dance number at the end during the credits. the 3 actors dance with such charm and sincerity that you find yourself wishing you lead a life that served up gorgeous little moments of humanity like this.

but even that is sort of a flaw because it made you realize how much of a waste of time and talent and potential the preceding 90 minutes were

oh also emmanuelle chriqui in a very skimpy outfit gave this movie 2 extra stars

Characters drink like one whiskey per minute (I'm not exaggerating), and nobody gets drunk. Bars are always completely empty but there's always some show on. The main story is nice but it's 10 minutes long. Lots of weird characters, but hey, who cares? What's the point of all this. You can look at Emmanuelle Chriqui, maybe you can get to the end without feeling you have wasted 1 hours 19 minutes. The silly western dance dury the end titles is the best part of the movie. Nice atmosphere and images overall, but I would have preferred watching a movie. I don't know what to say again but I have to continue writing IMDb says. Like writing things using more words makes something better... This policy of IMDb reminds me of this movie, it would have been good if it was a 20 minutes short film.

So this movie is free, which is kinda strange, it's cool but I do hope that it doesn't become a common thing because I personally think a movie like this would be better enjoyed in a big screen. Anyway it is still a pretty decent movie, it boasts an amazing cast including the always awesome Rosario Dawson and the effortlessly cool Carla Gugino, the fact that this movie is free and it has such an amazing cast is very impressive.

The storyline is fun and easy to watch, the intertwining story lines follow in from each other seamlessly and the dialogue is quite witty at times, (is it true that Mexican men love cunnilingus?). The only thing that let's this movie down is the lack of any type of soundtrack, music adds so much to a film and it would have been great to hear some cool indie tunes throughout this movie, but I suppose the budget has to be considered in cases like this.

I think that the writer director could do something really great if given the right budget and, I'm sure in the future we will see some cool things from this guy. Lets just hope he is able to attract as excellent a cast as what he has in this movie. So yeah if you're looking for an easy watch with a few laughs, great characters and excellent dialogue then check this out.

Kind of like 200 Cigarettes minus the 80's setting. Fun times. :)

I feel like those who have given this film such bad reviews either expected too much going into it or just couldn't let themselves go for the brief slice that this movie was. This is not a deep or complex movie, despite weaving together almost seamlessly multiple arcs, and it's not meant to be some heavy, meaningful piece (as least in my opinion). The point of any movie is to entertain, and I certainly was. I put this on with the intent to read a book while watching; by five minutes in I had abandoned the book completely. It's a quiet, unassuming comedy featuring some excellent performances. Simply charming.

A compelling and agreeable multi-story ensemble dramedy from writer/director Sebastián Gutiérrez, who has made several of these anthology format films. I'm particularly fond of these kinds of ensemble films and while there remain some acceptably unresolved loose ends by the time GIRL WALKS INTO A BAR is over, it's a very intriguing and entertaining movie. While its storyline is pretty thin, I felt it maintained interest through an effective Tarantino-esque intersection of characters and plenty of engaging dialog and an abundance of stimulating eye candy. Its focus is on character confrontation and interaction rather than the unveiling of the beginning, middle, and ending of a storyline, although it's a few of its story lines converge and resolve intriguingly. One segment shifts into voice-over narration by one of the characters; another segment suddenly shifts into another character's internal monologue, but I felt Gutiérrez handled these transitions effectively and they never seemed jarring; going with the flow of the film and its occasional style transitions, there is much to be absorbed out of this movie. For an independent film, Gutiérrez has attracted a notable A-list cast, including Carla Gugino (she happens to by Gutiérrez's wife, and has starred in about a dozen of his films), Danny Devito, Rosario Dawson, Josh Hartnett, Robert Forster, and Zachary Quinto, whose diverse stories intertwine and pass in the night as the characters interact between ten different L.A. bars during the course of one evening. Singer/songwriter Grant Lee Phillips supplies a folk-rock based soundtrack and has a brief role as a bar singer, performing a likeably cynical song written with Gutiérrez, called "Only Bad Can Come," that fits nicely into the mixture of story lines being conveyed. The film was the first feature film to be made specifically for internet distribution, although fortunately it's made its way onto DVD for non-streaming watchability.

This movie lacks heart and character development. The dialogue can be witty, unique, and clever at times but, it does not work as a whole. The cast is great. Unfortunately the viewer never gets a chance to discover who the characters are. The way some of the dialogue is delivered I wonder if the actors even understand who their characters are.

This movie wanders through the dessert for 79 minutes leaving the viewer to wonder why. Many of the scenes can stand on their own, but when strung together they just don't add up.

Big thumbs up for "free view on youtube". I think the writer/director shows promise.

"Sometimes we find ourselves in an unbearable situation and our options dry up and we resort to drastic measures. It's called survival." A dentist (Quinto) wants to have his wife killed. When the assassin (Gugino) shows up all she want's is the money. Nick says it will take a two hours to get it and he will be back. Nothing is ever that easy though. Even though it may not sound like it this is a comedy, and a pretty funny one at that. The dialog is great and the fast paced line delivery really makes it enjoyable and fun to watch. I laughed quite a bit in this and the story moves from bar to bar in a way that makes sense and is very entertaining. The cast in this is pretty impressive and everyone really pulls off their part well. There really isn't much to this movie and it's not all that of an original idea but the way it's presented makes it seem fresh. I really enjoyed this more then I expected and this makes for a good watch. Overall, a funny and entertaining movie that is well worth checking out. I give it a B.

As someone else has already said, this isn't a professional movie! It was more like a home-movie tour to show where not to go in LA at night. And we all know how much fun it is watching eighty minutes of someone else's home movies don't we? (Actually, that is probably the only good thing about this - it is shorter than your average film - which lets you get back to more fun things like reading Greek mythology a bit sooner!

If you have absolutely nothing to do for an hour-and-a-half (which would include cleaning the drains or polishing the family silver), then I guess this might be better than watching the grass grow - just!

One has to wonder why would anyone even think about going to the expense (which would probably feed thousands of Sudanese for a year) of shooting this!

I was really looking forward to watching this movie as the cast was in my opinion just filled with many of those near "A" star type actors that just really never get the credit that they so long deserve. One of my favourite under rated actors is Robert Forster and he did not disappoint me in his role as a guy named Dodge. Dodge first appears half way in to the film and he is the father of a son and a daughter. His son is a grifter named Henry played by Aaron Tveit, and his daughter is a stripper named Teresa played by Emmanuelle Chriqui. It would appear that Henry has learned his trade as a Grifter, from his dad Dodge, and his sister Teresa is not too fond of how their daddy has earned his living.

Carla Gugino is the main star of the film and the only constant character throughout the film. She plays a private eye named Francine Driver who is working undercover as a purported hit lady who is hired by a dentist named Nick played by Zachary Quinto to kill his wife. Unfortunately for Francine after successfully capturing on tape a clear confession by Nick the dentist to kill his wife, Francine runs in to the handsome young grifter named Henry played by Aaron Tveit who picks her purse. Henry steals Francine's wallet and the video recording of the dentist's confession that he wants his wife murdered and is willing to pay $20K for the (phony) hit lady to complete the job.

So the story line does sound interesting doesn't it? Unfortunately as Francine is seen travelling from bar to bar in search of the grifter Henry who stole her tape recording we are subjected to far too much irrelevant rhetoric from a cast of characters that just went on about nothing. This is where I felt the movie had lost me, and although adding bona fide actors like Rosario Dawson and Gil Bellows should have made the film more intriguing, I felt the film went flat.

I was hoping for more of an entertaining story as the entire film takes place in a series of bars with characters that somehow intertwine. When you have stars such as Danny DeVito, Josh Hartnett, Xander Berkeley, Zachary Quinto, Carla Gugino, Gil Bellows, and Rosario Dawson, a viewer just expects more from the movie. As an example, I cannot say enough about the fine film Dinner Rush which starred Danny Aiello, and also took place entirely in a restaurant bar. Now Dinner Rush was just an awesome film which I am sure to watch again. As for A Girl Walks In To A Bar, the title is a misnomer, since the girl in question Francine Driver, walks in to a number of bars and I walked out of the film being very much short changed. I gave it a 4 out of 10 rating and that is based on two strong performances by Robert Forster and Carla Gugino, otherwise my rating would have been lower.

This is a quirky sort of comedy suspense story with twist and turns in plot. Easy to watch and be entertained by.

The story starts with one mission for Kim and ends with her accomplishing something altogether different. At the end she is happy.

This is not a movie to make you think. It's about a girl on a mission and what happens in pursuit of her 'changing' goal.

Lite entertainment for an easy evening of TV watching ... that's about all it is. But its well done and I enjoyed the steely personality of Kim.

Just don't analyze the story - it's for laughs only!!

Plot: Francine Driver (Carla Gugino) is an undercover cop whom, posing as an assassin meets with a potential client, Nick (Zachary Quinto), in a Los Angeles bar late one night. After mild ambivalence, Nick confesses to her that he wishes his wife dead. She agrees to the arrangement if she is met with twenty thousand dollars. Nick admits he does not have the money on him currently, but promises by the end of the night he will. After his eventual departure, Francine is acquainted with a young man, Henry (Aaron Tveit), whom after certain particular charms, steals her wallet, leaving her there in the bar alone as he leaves unnoticed. Francine's wallet contains the recorded evidence that will incriminate Nick and put him behind bars.

It is then that Francine's night truly begins as she attempts to hunt down Henry and locate her missing wallet. Her search takes her through a series of local bars in Los Angeles and not one is without an introduced character whom in some fashion, as part of the ensemble cast, is connected to another character throughout—aforementioned or no. Each character as well has their own, unique, story to tell and of course, life in which they live.

Part of a Whole: While it cannot be argued that Francine is essentially the film's catalyst guised as a major character, she does in all actuality, share almost equivalent time on screen with the rest of the cast (Danny DeVito, Josh Hartnett, Zachary Quinto, Aaron Tveit, Rosario Dawson, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Robert Forster, etcetera). As Francine's night unfolds the viewer discovers the life of each individual is linked to that of another and not one is any more or less relevant than the other.

However, not each character is entirely interesting. In fact, each is nearly forgettable. The performances themselves however are well-rounded, though again, nothing too spectacular. Gugino and Quinto hold the most notoriety here.

Pen and no Sword: Writer and director Sebastian Gutierrez has a script here that is void of any real climatics or action in any degree. Instead the film is progressed through exchanges of dialogue encompassing a colorful variety of topics. These passings are often sharp, quick, full of wit, and allegedly carry some purpose or message.

While the lines are delivered with expertly dry candor, the point of these encounters isn't quite explained with any real clarity. There are exceptions in which such story-telling is acceptable, and most often successful, but here these characters are faulted, one by one, from their enigmatic origins. Nor is it with any great care that these characters either individually or together develop. So separate from compassion is the viewer that he or she is merely a spectator to the lives of these individuals rather than a partaking guest.

That said, the dialogue is as fun as one might expect from a film so heavily cast in it. There are as well, sequences which are as memorable as they are well-directed. Again, this is perhaps, alone, ten to twenty minutes of this hour and twenty minute feature.

Hope for the Little Guy – A Picture in 7D: It is immediately apparent that the film is shot on a SLR camera and this is undoubtedly the most admirable, if not hopeful, aspect of the film itself. Shot for the purpose of free distribution via internet streaming service, YouTube, the use of Canon's 7D SLR camera is a light for all aspiring filmmakers no matter the level of education received or field of preference.

Girl Walks Into A Bar has an abundance of Hollywood names attached to its likeness all standing under the lovely iridescence of bar-light, affront a piece of equipment any hard working artist can so willingly afford. One's own fantasy of shooting a feature film with the prominent actors of Hollywood, on say one's very own T2i, appears all the more livable.

The cinematography is an agreeable mix of color and perspective angles. It as well displays with triumphant circulation the power of SLR cameras and too their endless capability.

One Sentence Summary: Shot on Canon's 7D over the course of an eleven day period, the sharp witted Girl Walks Into A Bar is by no standards consistent with an amateur production and while it certainly gives hope to young, penniless, filmmakers, it does suffer from lack of a purposeful identity.

"Girl Walks Into A Bar" is exceptionally well written, with every little story linked harmoniously with each other. Another reviewer mentioned the excessive use of stereotypes. If there is something you can stereotype, it's strip club regulars.

Despite all the anonymity the film tried to cover itself with, it will get the attention it rightfully deserves, because it's not, as most movies of the same caliber, funny for the sake of fun. This is real comedy, and while it may not make you laugh uncontrollably, you will find a certain kind of humour that has not been attempted in a long time. Sometimes the writing is so funny, there is no actual need for dialogue.

This is not, strictly speaking, a comedy. There are a few dramatic aspects to it, as well. I give this a 9/10, although I think it deserves something closer to 8.5. Certainly one of the best films of 2011, simply for being... simple!

This is not a movie that is artistic, witty, or clever. Essentialy, what we have here, is a toned down, chicken soup for the young adult female soul version of American psycho type narrative. I really dislike how they stereotype left and right about men. It is really cold, and shows a lack of sensitivity to the feminine side of man, which is, and should always be, part of art, just as the masculine side of woman is as well. I really feel that this movie could have been great, but falls short, in an effort to cash in on advertising revenue. The same thing the movie critisizes it uses to get views. Insane? Not according to the producers, who obviously wrote this short nothing in a few weeks.

Sorry, but this gets an official alien 300 thumbs down.

Do your self a favor, and just rent Total Recal.

A series of vignettes that, for the most part, don't converge. Fair enough. We are here essentially to enjoy fast-paced dialogues, with a dancing or singing scene here and there. Unfortunately, a lot of the dialogue just feels like a filler, i.e., it's irrelevant, uninteresting, unsatisfying. Plus, it never is funny. All of this despite solid performances from a few actors with great screen presence.

About my rating, this movie loses 3 or 4 stars in just one minute, when the director pretends to amuse us with a scene full of naked people, only to fill the screen with floating black rectangles. Well, either you show or you don't show, mr. director. Now I'm aware of both your demagogy and spinelessness; an half-assed con artist you are. Being used to the censorship of various countries, I wastes additional time checking if I was insulted by some local laws, or by you. What I found doesn't make you look good, Mr Gutierrez, not good at all. You can keep losing face, but without me, because from now I doubt I'll ever watch anything you make.

I had never heard of this movie before. I needed another movie for my BOGO. I noticed the cast and it description seemed interesting enough. Besides it has Emmanuelle Chriqui. I had not seen her in anything other than Entourage.

I did like the cinematography.

This felt like a game of "telephone" where the phrase just gets passed from one scene to the next and it keeps losing more of its original meaning with each scene. I usually like interlocking stories, but this one had just too many stories and loosely interlocking aspects.

If this was sold as a comedy, they missed the mark by a mile. Almost no one in this movie was having fun. I did like the lead in scene with Rosario Dawson. You wondered why in the world people were just taking off and handing over their clothes to her. Somehow, the scene, once they got beyond the curtain could have been played funnier.

If you want a good comedy about late night bar related activity, then check out "After Hours" with Griffin Dunne, Teri Garr, Cheech and Chong and others. That movie succeeds in some many of the places that this one fails.