All the Real Girls
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DVD details
Actor: Danny R. McBride, Maurice Compte, Paul Schneider (IV), Shea Whigham, Zooey DeschanelBrand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Portuguese (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 2.35:1
Running Time: 108 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-08-19
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Reviews of All the Real Girls
DVD Review: Better Just Stick With "Tully"
Summary: 3 Stars
"What does that mean?" asks Noel (Zooey Deschanel) late in the self-congratulatory film "All The Real Girls". She could be referring to the title or to any number of unorganized dialogue elements that have been uttered throughout the film. At this point curious viewers will bond with Noel because they have been asking that same question throughout the story and will continue to ask it until David Gordon Green's film school project mercifully fades out after exhausting its 108 minutes of running time. When I got around to watching the film's trailer I realized that this disorganized film is more like a very long trailer of clips than a feature film.
I have read that this was not a happy set and the Green is a first-class jerk. The latter quality certainly comes across on the DVD's commentary feature and short featurette, "Improv and Ensemble: The Evolution of a Film". There is a staggering conceit that is immediately apparent in the film and I found the viewing experience strangely unpleasant, perhaps I was subconsciously picking up on the bad vibes that permeated the whole production.
This may also account for the total disconnect between the great technical quality of the film (the framing of shots, the audio, and all the 2nd unit stuff) and the universally poor performances of the cast. Since not all of this could be written off as lack of acting skill (although there is plenty of that), it may rest with Green who comes across as clueless (or disinterested) about acting for the camera directing. The actors flip in and out of character so often it becomes almost surreal. And Green fails to keep the actors on the same intensity level in many of the scenes. These are signs that the Director of Photography and the Assistant Director are most likely the ones responsible for the successful elements of the production.
"BUT", there are some people who seemingly really connected with this film, so I suggest doing a extensive read of the comments and reviews if you are considering a purchase. Folks seem to either love it or hate it. Although I belong at least slightly in the "hate it" camp, that is in part because I am a big fan of Hillary Bingingham's "Tully", which is virtually the same story but clearer, more involving, and dramatically more complex. And while not a "chick flick", it is more female friendly (i.e. not exclusively targeted at twenty-something males). If you want to see only one film then the clear choice is "Tully", if you want to see both then you would be wise to watch "All the Real Girls" first because it loses badly in any comparison. In both films a country rou', who has gone through most of the area girls, falls in love for the first time. He looks to his young virgin love for redemption, until they have a falling out.
Green's meandering film comes up way short in the comparative casting department. Not a surprise since Green uses many of his film school buddies whose acting for the camera deficiencies become especially glaring in scenes with veterans like Deschanel and Patricia Clarkson.. Deschanel is too polished and pretty to be believably paired with aging film school buddy Paul Schneider. Clarkson (who came close to ruining Angela Bettis' performance in the "Carrie" remake) overplays the corn-pone element and opens up the question of how Paul could have grown up with such a mother, and in rural North Carolina, yet acquired the non-accent of a news anchorman. The more plot-driven, suspenseful, and tightly organized "Tully" features Anson Mount, who (unlike Schneider) exudes confidence and a dangerous sex appeal. His costar, Julianne Nicholson, with her red hair and freckles is effortlessly charming and very intelligent. You immediately sense their mutual attraction and chemistry. Conversely, you never buy into the Deschanel-Schneider pairing. Since you never believe it when they connect you don't really care about their disconnection.
I have generally liked Deschanel in her quirky supporting roles but the challenges of trying to carry this film expose her limitations. There is one unintentionally hilarious scene where she describes an act of self-mutilation with a fishhook. Between painful laughs you can't help but feel sorry for her being stuck (pun intended) with this long series of lame lines. That should have found its way into the deleted scene section. Unfortunately this was not the only editing and assembly issue. The second unit (presumably) shot all sorts of beautiful wide angle shots of rural North Carolina and the editor inserted these as scene transitions. But instead of match cuts (sky to sky, water to water) or establishment shots, they are totally unrelated to either the scene before or the scene after. Of course it would have taken a small degree of vision and organizational skill by the director to have the transitions actually relate to the story.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
Description of All the Real Girls
ALL THE REAL GIRLS - DVD MovieYou'd think moviemakers would have run out of new ways of capturing the trials and joys of young love--but director David Gordon Green finds a fresh take in All the Real Girls, a bittersweet small-town romance. By leaving out the usual humdrum exposition of a courtship story, Green cuts right to the little moments that form the high and low points of a budding relationship. It's an impressionistic style aided by the wonderfully spontaneous and unpredictable acting of Paul Schneider (who also co-scripted) and Zooey Deschanel--who look like they're improvising, even though they're not. As in Green's excellent debut feature George Washington, a small town serves as an atmospheric backdrop--this place looks a couple of decades shy of the 21st century. The mosaic approach makes the film play like a collection of memories, someone's first love recalled with fondness and just a bit of regret. --Robert Horton
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