ChampDavSlim
The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.
Aneesa Wardle
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Jemima
It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.
Staci Frederick
Blistering performances.
bjnmail
I rarely write reviews unless something really catches my attention, which this film absolutely did. I was hesitant at first to watch it, but I decided to anyway. I almost turned it off in the first few minutes, but I waited just a bit longer and was hooked.I believe both Lou Taylor Pucci and Zooey Deschanel gave outstanding performances and made this movie entirely believable. They were easy to connect with and hard not to like. Zooey, although you do not see her most of the movie, really adds depth and mystery to the movie. She seems to have that quality about her.The plot was addicting and perfectly executed. There were many quirky moments, some of them almost stupid, that really livened up the scene when needed. I don't feel I need to get into the plot in detail. All I have left to say is you won't be disappointed.
TxMike
Lou Taylor Pucci is Mercer, 19, but still in high school because he had to drop out for a year. His mother had recently died, leaving him alone with no father, and his only brother, 18 years older than him, had not been heard from in a while. One day he finally arrives at a plan for his mother's ashes. He would go to Reno and get his brother, then both of them would drive to southern Louisiana where their mother grew up and scatter her ashes. A simple plan that was far from simple to execute. The movie is about Mercer's quest to finalize his mother's death.Zooey Deschanel is Kate, 24, and in a rare good mood for someone whose car was just stolen. Hers just happens to be to one Mercer picked at the car wash to make his journey. He isn't a thief, he will give the car back, but he didn't know what else to do.Jena Malone is Joely, the "hot" girl that Mercer knew a few years back when they were much younger. She lives near where Mercer thinks his brother is and hooking up with her provides a few laughs.But the movie is not a comedy. It is a sincere study of a young man dedicated to preserving something positive from his mother's memory. Certain inventive techniques are used. In one scene, where Mercer was talking to Kate back home via her cell phone which had been left in the car, "Kate" appears as if she is in the back seat, wearing the type of head lamp that miners use to see in dark mine shafts. When she speaks the lamp lights, when Mercer speaks the lamp is off.As plot would have it Mercer's brother was not in Reno where he thought he was. He was not at the next place either. When he finally found him in Mexico, his brother was not very happy to see him. Still Mercer managed to produce a happy ending to this saga. And even picked up a new girlfriend, Kate, in the process.
baPhatz
This is one of the most sweet, romantic and entertaining (unlikely) love stories I have seen in years. This is a MUST see! Very highly recommended. The opening scene; main character Mercer describes how he feels stuck. He is dealing with the loss of his mother and has yet to spread her ashes. Half brother Arlen doesn't even know she died. Mercer decides to make a change in his life. Like Huckleberry Finn our "go-getter" sets out on an adventure. This road trip starts with a car. Of course stealing a car is very out of charter for Mercer and when he's contacted by the owner (cell phone left in car) he apologizes profusely and an unlikely relationship begins. She believes this situation is fate (in the end it does bring them together). Mercer is headed to Reno to find his brother but detours to find and old girl friend in Fallen. The road trip leads him through many states, detours, characters and life lessons, all the while led by a narrating series of conversations with the car owner who eventually catches up with him in Sacramento. Zooey Deschanel has a beautiful dreamy voice; her tone and her 'sweet girl next door' authenticity, is perfect for the role. I didn't know Lou Pucci before this but what a fantastic actor. The script is smart and touching and very heartfelt. The acting is sensational. Overall, this is a believable story with interesting lovable characters. A FANTASTIC indie Drama. Highly Recommended! Hope this is Helpful!
jmmatt1
Mercer steals a car to track down his loser half-brother only to forge an unrealistic "bond" with the car's owner. Along the way he finds his way through a number of "quirky" encounters that help him appreciate his life and grow.There are some very neat camera tricks and shots, especially how they "show" the phone conversations between Mercer and the woman from whose car is now in his possession. However, much of the film is shot using a poor hand held technique that can dizzy up the audience, something fierce. I too saw this at AFF and walked out due to motion sickness and a general lack of caring about the characters and story. I found this movie to be awfully trite and derivative of other indie dramedies. The script is dreadful as characters react to in random and pointless ways. It read more like a parody of "quirky indie dramadies" than it actually is one. People do not act and talk the way the characters do in this film, the script limps along from improbable scenario to another, helped by weak performances and characters who are never fully realized. Zooey Deschanel comes across as creepy in her initial conversations with Mercer. If this is what makes an indie hit, the movement is clearly losing steam.