Banana Split (film)
Banana Split is a 2018 American comedy film directed by Benjamin Kasulke and starring Hannah Marks (who co-wrote the screenplay), Liana Liberato and Dylan Sprouse. It is Kasulke's feature-length directorial debut. Plot Summary. The film starts with three friends: April, Nick & Ben. April & Nick start dating and wind up dating for two years, right up to the point when they're about to graduate from high school and find out they have applied to very far from each other colleges. During the summer following up graduation, and before college orientation, April gets a job  at a movie theater, and one night, while scrolling through Insta she finds out Nick is dating someone new named Clara. She goes to a party with her other friends, Molly and Sally, and gets wasted. Then Clara shows up at the party with Nick and April’s mutual friend, Ben. April texts Ben to meet with her to try and find out more about Clara, and then spends the rest of the party hiding in bedrooms from her, until Clara finds her and introduces herself. They talk, do shots and end up having a great time together at the  party. At the end of the night, Clara puts her phone number on April’s phone. Clara and April start spending time together, drawn to each other by their similar tastes and attitudes. They set up rules that involve never talking about Nick or telling Nick about their friendship for things to work, with Ben being in the know of this weird friendship. They become best friends and one night April invites Clara over to her home for dinner. Things go awry when April’s little sister, Agnes, who is also “obsessed” with Nick, reveals that Clara is Nick's  current girlfriend to their mother, making everything awkward. Orientation is just around the corner and Nick’s birthday arrives, prompting April to send him a message wishing him a happy birthday. One last high school party is taking place and April is avoiding going because of a mutual agreement with Clara since she and Nick will be there together. She goes out with Sally and Molly but changes her mind and ends up alone at the party. There, trying to avoid Clara and Nick, she spends the time dancing and doing shots with Ben, until Nick decides it's awkward  not to say hello and goes and “introduces” them, leading to a lot of tension between them in the moment. Clara and Nick leave and so do April and Ben. On the ride home April is mad at herself for putting herself in that situation and yells at Ben, who ends up kissing her. The Lyft driver orders them to get off the car due to the yelling and April and Ben start making out until she decides to stop since it's a stupid move. The next day she wakes up with a text from Nick saying he's  outside of her house and wants to see her. They spend the day together, admit to the feelings they had for each other, and kiss. Later, Clara storms into the movie theater where April works and throws a client's Icee to her face, and yells that Nick dumped her. April follows her, they start yelling at each other until April says a hurtful thing and Clara leaves. April gets fired. With just a few days left before orientation, April tries to put her affairs in order. Ben and her tell Nick, together, what happened between them and Nick punches  Ben. She also comes clean to Nick about being Clara’s friend and Nick leaves. Nick and Ben eventually make up. The night before she leaves, April is enjoying a nice family dinner with her mother and sister, without yelling for once. Later, someone knows at the door and it's Clara. They both apologize to each other and make up, deciding to spend their last night together doing something fun. Production. The film was shot in Syracuse, New York during the winter of 2018. Release. The film made its worldwide premiere at the LA Film Festival on September 22 , 2018. It was then released on VOD and digital on March 27, 2020. Reception. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of based on reviews from critics. The site's critical consensus reads, ""Banana Split" serves up a sweet comedic dish that serves as a delightful calling card for co-writer and star Hannah Marks." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 63% based on reviews from 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Sheila O'Malley of RogerEbert.com awarded the film 3 out of 4 stars, and called it "An entertaining and often insightful look at  female friendship during a particularly strange time." Hannah Hoolihan of "Screen Rant" awarded the film 4 stars out of 5. Kate Erbland of IndieWire graded the film a B+, and praised the lead actors saying they "are so charming and fun - that even expected turns feel clever and fresh." Joyce Slaton of Common Sense Media awarded the film four stars out of five. Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of "The A.V. Club" graded the film a C, and criticized it as artificial and lacking insight, saying it "simply coasts on the extreme professionalism of the cast". Andy Crump of "Paste" gave the film  a rating of 7.5.