Amateur at best

Rating: Null/10 (8 February 2010)

The best thing this movie has going for it is a phenomenal cast. I know I know this is the directorial debut of Drew Barrymore but it was painfully obvious when watching. This movie should be shown in film school 101 to teach students why they are in film school in the first place. Why blocking matters, why shot selection and story structure is so important and why the movement of background extras should be thought out more than"Hey just stand there and pump your fist like you are cheering".
The movie feels staged. The directing is amateur, the blocking is poor and the cinematography is unimaginative. The story is simple enough and I hoped would be a unique take on the teenage coming of age story but unfortunately it goes nowhere. This movie relies on clichés and stilted techniques to trod the story along which makes the whole thing dull.
However I will say, if Drew Barrymore studies story structure and directing technique she will become a solid director. Let me put it this way, if this movie was made for $16,000 by a UT film student I would be eagerly awaiting their sophomore film. It wasn't.