Saturday, December 20, 2014

Movie: Ask Me Anything

Having read the book Undiscovered Gyrl over the summer I was really looking forward to seeing the movie and to see how the film tackles many of the issues that the book handles.
I have to say that while I liked the book this is a case where I liked the movie better.  Which was really surprise me. 
The first 30 minutes of the movie were a little iffy. I found myself facing a bit of a learning curve with Katie. Brit Robinson ( who won Best Actress at the Nashville Film Festival for her performance in this film) is an actress I have been a fan of since  the Disney Channel movie Avalon High, seemed to have a bit of a hard time finding her footing in the start of the movie. Almost like she couldn't find the core of the character. She always standing very funny and also her behavior seemed to lack realism at times.This might have been part of her plan however it did little to pull me into the film. After those first 30 minutes she steadily seemed to shed this part of the character, and therefor became more relatable and believable.  I think that one of her finest moments was when she was seeking wisdom from Martin Sheen. Another when she was talking on the phone with her friend Joel's mother. Even after the movie was over I found myself thinking about those scenes. They really stayed with me as I'm sure it will stay with many audience members.
The supporting cast also did a wonderful job. Most notable of them being Martin Sheen and  Justin Long. Both gave very real performances that added a nice layer to the movie. 
However I think that the real star of the film was the music. Normally it is so hard to find a film with music that was so well tailored to not only the character but the style and pace of the movie as well.  by the end of the film I found myself wanting the Ask Me Anything soundtrack. Interestingly enough  entire soundtrack is made up of songs submitted to a contest via Craig's List.  The songs had to be written and performed by a female, 21 years old and younger. Undiscovered girls you could say.
The soundtrack very rightfully won best music at the Nashville Film Festival.

On the behind the scenes side  of things, I was very impressed by the over all quality of the film, given it's tight budget. 
Whoever made the call not to have the film play into all of those blogger cliches was brilliant.
I had been fearful that the movie would done like a series of blog post.
But thankfully it was not. While that style worked for the book it would have created a far to great disconnect in the movie. The only thing that fell short on that side was the flash backs. To me it was too over the top.  rather than pulling me into Katie's past it had me losing interested in her back story. 

A highlight of the film was the ending for me.  And while I can't talk about it as both a fan of the book and movie it was wonderful. Above and beyond what I had hoped for.

(UN-  However the film does contain brief nudity,and langue) 

Stars: * * * 3.6
LINK TO TRAILER 

The film can be rented from, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, On demand, direcTV, AT&T  Xbox, Sony, Verizon, and many more.




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