Throughout the 89-minute cinema experience that is “Post Grad,†you’ll consistently ask yourself if it’s for real. With horrible writing and pacing, it feels like a sequel to “Disaster Movie†or even worse, an original film for the Hallmark Channel. Make no mistake about it, this film is utterly avoidable and is void of any redeeming qualities, despite a clearly competent stable of supporting actors and a good-looking, yet still somewhat green star.
In spite of appearing in plenty of films and television shows over the past seven years, Alexis Bledel is far from her best in this film. However, most of that has to do with the poor script and even worse direction. Many of her lines aren’t realistic and come across flat, making for a movie that will induce sighs of frustration throughout.
By the time the credits roll, Bledel’s beautiful blue eyes may be the only reason to sit through the film in its entirety.
The process to which this character’s dreams come true is also filled with so many unnecessary hiccups and such sloppy transitions that it wouldn’t matter how proficiently she delivered her often verbose and unemotional lines. Many a time, you’ll scratch your head wondering how the plot advances from one point to another, going from sloppy foreplay with an older next-door neighbor at one moment to trying to win back a best friend with the help of an ice cream truck in another.
Overall, the plot is so lackluster that even if you loved Bledel in “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants†and “Gilmore Girls,†you’ll be hard pressed to find anything likeable about her performance in this movie.
In the end, it’s hard to fault Bledel for a horrible script, but ultimately her presence can’t save the film. When a star doesn’t have that capability however, the chances for a film’s success are minimal.
The same thing goes for the performances of veterans the likes of Michael Keaton, Carol Burnett and Jane Lynch, who are all out of their element. Keaton plays the extra quirky father, who aside from a few funny lines, is dull, annoying and a bit out of place. Burnett is perhaps the funniest of the trio, but many of her motives and background story are clouded, making her not as witty and enjoyable as she could have been otherwise. Lynch gives easily the most effective performance, but isn’t on the screen enough to truly shine.
Rodrigo Santoro also gives a strange performance as David Santiago, the older hunk next door that ends up being the plot device that gets the film’s main character to realize her life is empty. How this process unravels however is far from fluid and borders on amateur, ruining what could have been a decent supporting role.
With so many shoddy performances, it gets to the point where you wonder what was going on during the production of this film.
Things get even worse when you try to dissect the film and find out what genre it is. Is it a teen or a family comedy? Is it a coming of age film? Is it a love story? “Post Grad†has snippets of all these genres within it.
While it’s admirable that this flick attempted to do so much [especially today], it doesn’t do anything particularly well, making it a mish-mash of failed genres and a waste of any movie-goer’s time.
When it’s all said and done, a sexy star simply isn’t enough to justify spending time and money on this picture, even if it’s being played in an air conditioned room in the middle of a heat wave.
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