The story for this film is very familiar and even the cast is who you would expect to see in an independent effort but what stands out is the believable performances and the writing of Marissa Ribisi. Story takes place in Los Angeles and is about a bunch of twentysomething people who are unable to find the right person to have a relationship with. Claire (Ribisi) has just been dumped by her boyfriend and she complains that men don't know how to commit. She hangs out with her friends and her brother Jason (Giovanni Ribisi) in a local bar and they all like to talk about sex and companionship. April (Juliette Lewis) is a slut and sleeps with every man she comes into contact with much to the chagrin of Neal (Michael Rapaport) who is the bartender and in love with her. Jason is in love with Jenn (Pamela Segall) but she doesn't care for him at all. One day at a newsstand Claire meets Chad (Jeremy Sisto) who is a wannabe actor and he manages to ask her out on a date.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Claire and Chad go out maybe twice and then have sex and when she leaves to go home he says "I love you". But after that Claire has a hard time getting back with him and every time she finds him he says he is busy. Claire gets angry and goes to his house where she discovers him in bed with another woman. Claire is confused as to what went wrong and two days later April admits to her that she was the one in bed with Chad.
This film was directed by Rory Kelly and even though the budget is probably minuscule it still has a sense of vision as to what the mood of the characters should be. In essence, this works best as a character study. Each of the characters are well defined and drawn and the credit should go to Marissa Ribisi who wrote the script. Story is predictable and the ending is too ambiguous but each of the characters have at least one good scene. Giovanni Ribisi as Jason has a couple of good scenes and arguably the best is when he tells off April in the bar. Lewis as April is very effective especially towards the end when she tells Neal how she really feels about him. But their is no argument about who owns this film. Marissa Ribisi is terrific and she shows that she can carry a film herself. Along with her red hair and delicate features she has the face of an angel. Her script has flaws but what is noticeable is the sincerity in the words that each character utters during the course of the film. Her script does a splendid job of showing how some of these characters want to date real and honest people but they just seem unable to. Some of it is their fault in the types they select to date, but with others they seem to be a victim of a very shallow generation. I do hope that Ribisi continues to write because she definitely understands the aggravation of dating in this day and age. She has a very good scene with Lewis in the bathroom of the bar where she is crying and asking about what its like to have someone who's really in love with you. This scene and the performance of Ribisi rings true and I think it perfectly describes what this film is really about. Marissa, keep on writing!
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Claire and Chad go out maybe twice and then have sex and when she leaves to go home he says "I love you". But after that Claire has a hard time getting back with him and every time she finds him he says he is busy. Claire gets angry and goes to his house where she discovers him in bed with another woman. Claire is confused as to what went wrong and two days later April admits to her that she was the one in bed with Chad.
This film was directed by Rory Kelly and even though the budget is probably minuscule it still has a sense of vision as to what the mood of the characters should be. In essence, this works best as a character study. Each of the characters are well defined and drawn and the credit should go to Marissa Ribisi who wrote the script. Story is predictable and the ending is too ambiguous but each of the characters have at least one good scene. Giovanni Ribisi as Jason has a couple of good scenes and arguably the best is when he tells off April in the bar. Lewis as April is very effective especially towards the end when she tells Neal how she really feels about him. But their is no argument about who owns this film. Marissa Ribisi is terrific and she shows that she can carry a film herself. Along with her red hair and delicate features she has the face of an angel. Her script has flaws but what is noticeable is the sincerity in the words that each character utters during the course of the film. Her script does a splendid job of showing how some of these characters want to date real and honest people but they just seem unable to. Some of it is their fault in the types they select to date, but with others they seem to be a victim of a very shallow generation. I do hope that Ribisi continues to write because she definitely understands the aggravation of dating in this day and age. She has a very good scene with Lewis in the bathroom of the bar where she is crying and asking about what its like to have someone who's really in love with you. This scene and the performance of Ribisi rings true and I think it perfectly describes what this film is really about. Marissa, keep on writing!