SUBURBAN GIRL - 7/10 ( B )

A much more entertaining and poignant version of 2005's Shopgirl, Suburban Girl is an incredibly witty and sweet movie about an unlikely couple trying to make their relationship work. Sarah Michelle Gellar is radiant and lovable as Brett Eisenberg, a book editor working her way up the corporate ladder. After seeing her in countless horror films, it is nice to see Gellar branch out once again - proving that she is actually an incredibly talented actress. She gives the role a sweet charm and is able to tackle the more emotional moments as well. Alec Baldwin is great as Archie Knox, a wealthy publisher who becomes infatuated with Brett. He gives the character a lot of depth and doesn't allow the role to become cliched or predictable. Gellar and Baldwin surprisingly have excellent chemistry and are very believable in their scenes together. Maggie Grace is funny in a small supporting role, as is Chris Carmack. Marc Klein does a great job of showing the beauty of New York with his direction, and his script is realistic, funny and often quite touching. I highly recommend this gem. I hope that it finds distribution soon.

Cory, did you get a job previewing not yet released indie films or something? You've been hitting them like crazy lately eh, hehe.

I've been going to see them at the Tribeca Film Festival

7/10 -> B-

After seeing this movie on cory's list in 2008 movie thread (though I still find this movie to be a 2007 release ) I wated to see it because I love SMG. I agree with everything he said. SMG is very loveable and should definitely do more non-horror movies. She and Alec Baldwin make a great on-screen couple. And the whole movie looks very beautiful. Don't know why but it felt so calm and peaceful...

I purchased the DVD yesterday and watched it. My grade remains the same, and it's a high B bordering on a B+. I still believe that it should have gotten a theatrical release. It's incredibly enjoyable.

And as I said before, I'm considering it a 2008 release because that was when it was officially released stateside (i.e. not in a film festival). The same goes for Charlie Bartlett, which I saw early last year but is just now being released theatrically in February.

Yeah, it would've made a decent amount of money. There's something about the movie that makes you like it, I can't quite put my finger on it. It would be a good date movie.

Also how do you break the 1-10 scale with A+, A, A-, B+, B, B- and so on grades??? I mean there are a lot more alphabet grades that way than just ten numbers...

My grading scale is generally as follows:

10/10 - A+
9/10 - A, A-
8/10 - A-, B+
7/10 - B, B-
6/10 - B-, C+
5/10 - C, C-
4/10 - D+
3/10 - D, D-
2/10 - F
1/10 - F
0/10 - F

I'm not an incredibly harsh grader, so most films don't get below a 5/10 unless I strongly dislike them.

Ouuuuu. Bit weird though. Three grades for F, some letter grades falling into two number grades...

Would've never guessed.

SUBURBAN GIRL - 7/10 (B-)

Cute and enjoyable. But it ended up dragging a bit towards the end.

I can see why it didn't get a theatrical release. I think they probably made the right decision. It wouldn't have done very well. It might do well on DVD though (I say might because at my store, we got 17 copies and as of last night, after almost two days of being on the shelf, not a single copy has been rented), and this way they didn't have to spend a bunch of money on advertising. I really enjoyed the movie, and it is better than some movies that get released in theaters (a lot, actually), but it kind of reminded me of something that would be bought to air on TV (ABC Family, or even Lifetime).

My grading scale is the exact same one that Thom uses.

Mine is too.