Review of All the Real Girls (2003) by Ryan M — 29 Dec 2008

Paul Schneider is an underused talent, whose characterizations and range, not to mention pronounced chin, remind me of a modern day Cary Grant. His performance in All the Real Girls, an early work from small-town writer/director David Gordon Green, is the centerpiece of the film, embodying the intimacy and subtle sentimentality that resonates throughout each scene.

The same cannot be said for Zooey Deschanel, who officially signals the derailment of the narrative in her strange and awful work in the climactic confrontation scene...she overacts in what appears to be an attempt to compensate for her inability to express any sort of genuine emotion.

For the 85 minutes or so leading up to that scene, her work thankfully doesn't hinder the beauty of the refreshing naturalness and credible romanticism of Green's film. However, the last half hour is sloppy, meandering, and so unsatisfying it must be skipped; it feels completely unrelated to the masterpiece that comes before it.