Growing Up and Other Lies Review: An NYC Story

New York City is full of adventure. Anyone who has ever been on the island of Manhattan has a story or two about how the sleepless island took him or her for a ride they will never forget. There are those stories and the stories of how the unforgiving concrete jungle brought you closer to your friends and that is the story of “Growing up and Other Lies.”

Written and directed by Darren Grodsky and Danny Jacobs, “Growing Up and Other Lies” is adulthood in New York City in a nutshell. What starts out as four friends giving one of their own a memorable last day in the city, turns into a day of reflection and plenty of patchwork on past mistakes carried by the locations and chemistry of its cast.

The film follows Jake (Josh Lawson), a Ohio native, that after struggling for ten years as an artist in New York is readying to go home—the life story of half of Bushwick, Brooklyn. On his last day in the city, Jake gets three of his closest friends, Billy (Danny Jacobs), Rocks (Adam Brody), and Gunderson (Wyatt Cenac), to get together and walk the entire island of Manhattan as a final hoo-rah before he retreats back to Ohio.

Walking the entire island of Manhattan sounds great and worry-free in theory, however, the guys quickly find out that is not the case. The conflicts they face are much bigger than fare hikes and “showtime” dancers—it is adulthood.

“Growing Up and Other Lies” is not perfect by any means, but it doesn’t have to be. It tells a story that is true to its characters and is brought to life by their interactions with each other and lively environment. If you’ve had a close group of friends for any extended period of time, it is almost impossible not to see yourself or your friends in the film, which must be credited to the film’s writers and stellar cast.

Starting with the cast, their back and fourths are the real show. With the biggest playground any actor can ask for serving as a backdrop, all four of the film’s main cast has a moment to shine and adds a level of realism that is key to any story about the existential crisis that is adulthood in New York City.

Cenac’s Gunderson pushes every character to the edge, forcing them to be honest with themselves creating some of the films funniest moments and Lawson shines in moments where Jake questions his relationships and decision to go back home. Jacobs and Brody are not left hanging to dry as their grow up (yes, pun intended) throughout the film.

You cannot have good performances without the material and Grodsky and Jacob’s script has real weight to it. In a lean 90-minute runtime, they are able to capture who each of these characters are from beginning to end and allow the audience to find out who these people are.

The challenges of friendship and adulthood are nothing new, you can catch it Sunday nights on “Girls,” but “Growing Up and Other Lies” is bound to catch your attention. Grodsky and Jacobs handle every facet of the film with so much care and the film’s cast, which makes “Growing Up and Other Lies” a fun ride, carries on that care.

“Growing Up and Other Lies” hits theaters and on demand Friday, March 20th.