182: Post Grad

Post Grad (PG-13) - 2009 - Runtime: 88 minutes
Starring: Alexis Bledel, Michael Keaton
Director: Vicky Jenson

Well, at least this movie was under and hour and a half. Boy, whoever thought this concept would make for a great movie really should not have a job. I mean, first of all, finding a job is hard enough, you don't need to make a comedy about it. It's a bit insulting if you ask me to try and build comedy out of one of the most trying and frustrating parts of growing up (I really did have a hard time after college finding a career job - in fact I didn't find one at all, so this kind of hits home a little more for me than most movies). But I gave this movie a shot, namely because I like Bledel and Matt Saracen is in it! I was hoping that it would end up being a light hearted comedy that doesn't focus too much on career, but more the person.

Well, it does focus more on Bledel's relationships more than her quest for perfection via career and at least the ending isn't too formulaic - she doesn't end up with a great job at the end, I hope I'm not spoiling that for you! But the route to get to that ending is filled with so many annoyances and WTF? moments it really makes you want to pull your hair out! First of all, Bledel's character, Ryden (What's up with that name? Why do movies choose such unusual names? Too be cool or to stand out? Well, it doesn't work!), is completely self-centered and annoying. This normally wouldn't be a bad thing if there were some redemptive qualities, or that we see some willingness to change. But this doesn't happen until the last fifteen minutes of the movie! It's completely obvious what needs to happen and when it doesn't, it doesn't make you yearn for the ending, it just gets annoying! Plus there's this really weird side story where Ryden's dad (Michael Keaton) gets into lots of trouble buying stolen belt buckles on the black market! Strange? Yes! And completely out of nowhere and it certainly doesn't add anything to the story! The only thing I think we're supposed to take away is that her family is strange and that we're all supposed to embrace our families, no matter how strange. Lame. Seriously, it's a bad side plot and only helps drag the movie out when already it's slowly paced and awkward.

Stay away from this one - it's not worth your time. There are better coming of age stories (Adventureland comes to mind) that are filled with genuine moments and actual comedy! This one is a dud - leave it alone!

Rating: Avoid Like the Plague!