One of two things must be
true about the reason George Zinavoy (Freddie Highmore) has spent his
senior year at a Manhattan prep school ignoring every assignment and
spending his lunch hour "pleasure"-reading Camus: either 1)
he's genuinely depressed and in need of real medical help, or 2) he's
an affected, privileged twit playing at existential despair, in which
case his world can be turned around by the attentions of hot, popular
Sally (Emma Roberts).
And there you have the basic problem of
writer/director Gavin Wiesen's mundane coming-of-age romance, though
there are plenty of other problems with a script that also has George
tailing his suspicious-acting stepdad and becoming pals with a cocky
young artist (Michael Angarano). It might have helped if Highmore had
been able to convey an emotion more profound than general malaise, or
if Roberts' Sally weren't nearly as unlikable as George is. What
remains is formulaic romantic comedy that attempts some familiar
indie-pic variations on the theme but ignores the most fundamental
need of the genre: Somewhere, there better be somebody you actually
want to root for. Grade: C
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Opens June 17. Check out theaters and show times, see the trailer and get theater details here.
