Girl Walks Into a Bar

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.

"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!

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 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.

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.