Hipsters, unite! “Growing Up and Other Lies” makes it to the must-see list of meaningful-core films.
With a screenplay dependent upon dialogue and the niche aesthetic of desaturation crucial to indie aesthetics, directors Danny Jacobs and Darren Grodsky put the anti-coming-of-age genre back on the marquee. “Growing up” will be released to theaters on March 20.
Memory lane stretches across all of Manhattan, New York for four friends diverting from their day-to-day routine to relive 280 blocks of nostalgia.
Jake, played by Josh Lawson, is contemplating his departure from the big city after scraping by on an artist’s income and several existential crises later. But before his return to Ohio, he persuades his three best men to join him on a final, foot-tramping hurrah through the borough.
Rocks, played by Adam Brody, is in denial of his loveless relationship with a woman carrying his son. Billy, played by Danny Jacobs, is the peppy friend whose only regret is outgrowing his buddies. Wyatt Cenac’s character, Gunderson, is just … there.
Maybe they’re not exactly the Central Park friends or ladies who lunch coterie audiences have come to love, but the characters behind the crises are sure to strike a familiar chord with the viewer’s inner circle.
It’s great to see Brody, the lanky, former “OC” heartthrob whose magazine cutouts lined walls of pubescent girls’ rooms everywhere, in action again.
Brody and his brooding cohort Benjamin McKenzie were two of the core-four actors in the decade old Newpsie-infested series that actually had some promise in the acting department. Yet, the actor has settled for a glut of forgettable cameos since his four-season reign as god of all geeks.
The film’s ability to speak to every-day truisms adds to its likeability.
Its characters unfold primarily through spontaneous decisions to visit artsy coffee shops and workplaces from the past. The scenes are mended together by stream-of-consciousness conversation, which helps bring the viewer into the walk as well.
As it turns out, Jake’s flock of friends is not necessarily of the ‘Ride or Die’ breed, but rather of the ‘Walk Until I’m Over it’ genus.
“Growing Up” depends heavily on character development through dialogue.
Although this hinders the audience’s ability to emotionally invest into the film, the artistic decision to do so greatly contributes to the self-fulfillment and self-discovery themes critical to open-ended dramas like “Garden State” or “In the Land of Women.”
Warning: This indie-flick does not meet many of the shallow criteria trademarked by Hollywood cookie-cutter prototypes.
The most recognizable face is not featured as the main role. The overtones of the film’s message actually require some thought. The car chases, the steamy sex scenes and even the Dorito-deprived leading lady were dropped from the script.
Directors Jacobs and Grodsky left the bread in the bag, leaving the audience without a sense of beginning and end. Instead, the story jumps straight into 90 minutes of meat for an added indie archetypal touch.
“Growing Up and Other Lies” is a one-on-one session with harsh reality where the truth is painfully pleasing.
Rating: 3.5/5
Director: Danny Jacobs, Darren Grodsky
Starring: Josh Lawson, Adam Brody, Wyatt Cenac, Danny Jacobs
Runtime: 90 minutes
Release: March 20