Review of All the Real Girls (2003) by Kyle 4 — 16 Nov 2003

Add ALL THE REAL GIRLS to the list of movies I've seen lately that everybody seems to love, and that leave me absolutely cold.

Although Zooey Deschanel's performance was excellent, the rest of the movie I could take or leave. The writer and director talk in a mini-documentary on the disc about how they wanted this to be a slice of life, but the fact is, movies - stories - are meant to tell us something in an encapsulated way, so that we can connect to it. Maybe if these people were my friends, or I knew them in some capacity beyond what we learn when we're dropped into their world, I could have connected to it.

Much like ROGER DODGER and REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, I was left wondering why I should care about the protagonists as much as the narrative suggested, and I felt badly for the victims but didn't think the story did anything to resolve their situations or comment on them. Maybe I'm not cut out for "slice of life" cinema anymore. Maybe now that I've settled down in my own life, those stories don't resonate with me anymore, because I've lived through those situations and possibilities and I know that ultimately, reality is a boring thing that happens to us all, and it occurs just after the credits roll in these films.

6/10 for great performances, cinematography and score. But for me, it didn't live up to the hype.