Lola Versus (2012)

Lola Versus (2012)

Hanging around in supporting roles for a while now, Gerwig has proven to be a likable presence. Her first lead role shows just how charismatic she is as few actresses could make such a self-involved character anything but repugnant. The movie is full of the usual indie cliches, the kooky friend, the whacky liberal parents, the artistic nice guy and the hunky bad boy. The irony is that Kinnaman is portrayed as the villain of the piece yet comes across as the only remotely down to earth character. He has a maturity and a self-realization that none of the others possess. Despite being on the brink of their thirties, they treat life as if they are still in their teens. The whole thing reminds me of that nineties TV show "Felicity". Gerwig and her irritatingly quirky best friend Jones seem to think the world revolves around their orgasms, or lack of. I suspect female viewers will find it hard to sympathize with Lola. After all she's an attractive and seemingly financially stable young woman who gets hit on by men on a regular basis. It's a bit like a female variation on "The Brothers MacMullen", a movie where three hunky brothers faced the earth-shattering dilemma of which of their various hot girlfriends to stick with. There are times you'll just want to give Lola a good shaking. At one point she agrees to have dinner with a guy who is clearly a couple of futons short of a Greenwich loft. She then unbelievably allows him to penetrate her without a condom. Maybe Julian Assange was a technical advisor? Lola is an idiot who gets everything she deserves and a terrible role model for young women. The movie should be retitled "Lola Versus the Audience".

The Movie Waffler

In "Lola Versus," eveything goes as planned in the months before the wedding of Lola(Greta Gerwig) and Luke(Joel Kinnaman) until he unceremoniously dumps her. At least, she has cool friends like Alice(Zoe Lister Jones, who also-cowrote with director Daryl Wein), an actress, and Henry(Hamish Linklater), a musician, who let her sleep on their floors and feed her, even though Henry is also a friend of Luke's. So, now that Lola is single, she gets hit upon by Nick(Ebon Moss-Bachrach) while buying salmon at a deli. The important thing is for her to hold herself together until she defends her doctoral dissertation. Like its heroine, "Lola Versus" is a likable mess with some nice moments. To be honest, there really is not that much of a story, just a series of episodes that try too hard to be funny which only serve to put it on the level of a second rate sitcom at times.(Like, who would put on an Ani DiFranco song during sex? And it's a guy!) It's a shame because there really is something here about a woman who is on her own emotionally for the first time in her life and forced to make decisions like what to do with all of her free time. Plus, Daryl Wein again shows his affinity for New York City in the locations he uses, especially probably being the first director to make use of the High Line cinematically. And where have you been, Debra Winger?