Review of Lola Versus (2012) by Walter M — 16 Jun 2012

In "Lola Versus," eveything goes as planned in the months before the wedding of Lola(Greta Gerwig) and Luke(Joel Kinnaman) until he unceremoniously dumps her. At least, she has cool friends like Alice(Zoe Lister Jones, who also-cowrote with director Daryl Wein), an actress, and Henry(Hamish Linklater), a musician, who let her sleep on their floors and feed her, even though Henry is also a friend of Luke's. So, now that Lola is single, she gets hit upon by Nick(Ebon Moss-Bachrach) while buying salmon at a deli. The important thing is for her to hold herself together until she defends her doctoral dissertation.

Like its heroine, "Lola Versus" is a likable mess with some nice moments. To be honest, there really is not that much of a story, just a series of episodes that try too hard to be funny which only serve to put it on the level of a second rate sitcom at times.(Like, who would put on an Ani DiFranco song during sex? And it's a guy!) It's a shame because there really is something here about a woman who is on her own emotionally for the first time in her life and forced to make decisions like what to do with all of her free time. Plus, Daryl Wein again shows his affinity for New York City in the locations he uses, especially probably being the first director to make use of the High Line cinematically. And where have you been, Debra Winger?