Post Grad

Post Grad

“I asked the VP if she was pregnant. No. She was just fat.”

Monday night was Girls’ Night Out…of the PG-13 variety. Free movie passes for my five daughters (ages 21, 17, 17, 15 and 13) and I to see Post Grad. Yay!! I was so excited to hang with my favorite girls and as is always the case with these free movies, standing in line and getting an early seat offers time to catch up. And laugh.

Once again cell phones were an issue. I good humouredly tried to argue with the security people…to no avail. I actually learned far more than I wanted to from the head of this evening’s security—who I’m 99.9% sure was female—about why cell phones are suddenly so strictly banned. Her lecture suggested the cell phone recordings of movies are the sole cause of production companies losing millions of dollars, which means actors aren’t paid as well and their bitter complaints force the blame to be placed on the security people for allowing cell phones in theaters in the first place…and they lose their jobs. Seriously? This is why I can’t take my security blanket in the theater?? I’m thinking a lawsuit against Brad Pitt for wrongful condemnation would be a better option than goin’ all cell phone-Nazi and might make getting fired worth it. I want to offer this valuable piece of advice, but she won’t stop talking about cell phones and the downfall of the entertainment industry. She finally finished her monologue by waving her metal detecting paddle in front of her, saying, “So, if you’re bad, I’ll just have to spank you with my paddle.” Whaaaaattttt????? Let the giggling begin!

The previews for Post Grad looked so good to me. We couldn’t wait to see it. At least one of my daughters and I are huge Gilmore Girls fans and we all loved Alexis Bledel in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, so we just knew we’d love her in this movie, too.

Alexis Bledel plays Ryden (love the name) Malby, a recent college graduate who thinks the world is at her fingertips…until she’s passed over for her dream job. She moves back home with her parents (Micheal Keaton and Jane Lynch), little brother (Bobby Coleman—good job!) and grandmother (“Is that Miss Hannigan??” Carol Burnett) and searches for direction.

Friday Night Light’s Zach Gilford plays the all-suffering love interest while Rodrigo Santoro (kept picturing him in his underwear while I tried to figure out what I’d seen him in before; had to look him up when I got home to be reminded of his role in Love, Actually) played the crush next door. Both are exceptionally cute but neither was especially memorable. I’m not opposed to the predictable rom-com. Heck, I’m sometimes comforted by it…unless it’s boring. I wouldn’t say I was bored out of my mind, but I wasn’t well-entertained, either.

Maybe my expectations were too high, but I thought it fell horribly flat and I’m not sure I offered more than a compulsory giggle during the entire movie. Even Jane Lynch couldn’t redeem it. I’m disappointed that I’m disappointed in Jane Lynch! I thought she could do no wrong. I thought she was a scene stealer. I thought she could read the driver’s manual and make me laugh. I kept waiting. It didn’t happen. And, oh dear, how far has Michael Keaton fallen from Batman to this?

As far as my 21 yr. old is concerned, all movie flaws were forgiven when Miss Hannigan showed up onscreen. I kept expecting her to get drunk and call her grandchildren ungrateful little brats, but it was nice to see her again. How long has it been? Points for sentimentality.

Nostalgia and good time with the girls aside, I was definitely disappointed in Post Grad and I want to know who to blame. The screenwriter? The director? The acting?

Maybe this is security’s fault, too?

Bottom Line: Post Grad does not graduate with honors.