Review of According to Greta (2009) by Ben F — 23 Aug 2012

First of all, I thought that this movie was called "According To Greta", and not just simply "Greta." Anyway, I couldn't tell you the reason for me watching this movie. Me and my sister decided to sit down in front of it from beginning to end. What was so hilarious and at the same time not surprising to me was how similar it was to several other films that I recently saw dealing with troubled teenage girls getting used to a new enviornment. "According to Greta"attempts to create its own originaltity though, using off-beat narratives by Hillary Duff throughout the movie in an attempt to relate with the audience. This doesn't really work on any level, and the awkward chemistry between actors makes this film seem more uncomfortable than sentimental.

Hillary Duff plays a girl that has to live with her grandparents for the summer. She hates it, but over time she learns how to love. Wow...I gotta say, that's quite original. I've really never seen that before. How unique and invidualistic. Unfortunately, this plot has been done so many times that its hard to count. But enough about that. We all know how predictable it was. Even if you haven't seen the movie you can tell that it would be this linear. So let's just move on.

The weirdness comes in the performances between actors. I don't know who in the right mind thought that Ellen Burstyn and Hillary Duff would be good together, but somehow this happened. What was the result? Weird. That's all I have to say. Duff's person is so vastly different than anything Burstyn could act with. This isn't a good thing. Hillary Duff has this obnoxious attitude to her performances and it's like Burstyn can't keep up with it, not to mention the rest of the cast.

The film tries to spice things up a bit by introducing a character that Duff falls in love with. Then they try even further to emphasize the emotion by introducing interracial love, and how for some reason this is considered taboo in New Jersey in 2008. Anyway, it tries to be thought-provoking but ends up being annoying instead. The bad script doesn't help matters. Duff's lines are so predictable and off-putting that it makes the film a real bad experience during particular scenes. I don't know what else to say. "According to Greta" is a film that just seems to be there. It doesn't look like it made much of an impact in any way. The weird script, bad acting, and annnoying sentiments only make this movie harder and harder to deal with as the movie progresses. I'll just say it. Its a movie to stay away.

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