Review of All the Real Girls (2003) by Diana S — 16 Feb 2006

I did not like [b]Junebug[/b]. Not at all. In fact, several times I contemplated turning it off. But I gave it the three because Amy Adams ("The Wedding Date"), who's up for Supporting Actress, was delightful. And even though I didn't like it, I keep thinking about it. All the ways it annoyed me. The basic premise is an art dealer from Chicago come to North Carolina to try and secure an artist for her gallery and also meet her new in-laws. And then we just see this family interact. Except that I didn't find the characters very interesting and most of them I just didn't like. So blah.

Then, I watched [b]All the Real Girls[/b] and had my faith in character dramas renewed. This is very similar to Junebug in that they both deal with relationships and meander a bit through glimpses into different character's lives. Girls is more about love, as it focuses on a small town womanizer who falls for his best friend's sister. I don't know how to describe this except that it felt real. Like how relationships actually are. Sometimes funny. Sometimes sad. But very plausible. I really recommend this.