| Overall Grade: |
C+ |
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| Story: |
B |
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| Acting: |
B- |
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| Direction: |
D+ |
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| Visuals: |
C |
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Beth, I Loved, But...
by DanM (movies profile)
Jul 10, 2009
4
of
4 people found this review helpful
...her movie...not so much.
In a strange irony, the only reason I saw "I Love You Beth Cooper" is because I adore Hayden Panettiere ("save the cheerleader"...for ME! ;^). But I was afraid she, in all her diminutive, baby-fat stockiness, as well as the film, would suck. I was actually very pleasantly surprised, however, to find that she was the best thing in the film (which isn't saying enough, unfortunately), a few nice turns such as from coming-of-age alum Alan Ruck not withstanding. Chris Columbus, a veteran of the genre, seems old and outdated with his thrown appliances and Hummers-though-living-rooms schtick. The Apatow/Mottola world has made movies like ILYBC seem trite and forced. There isn't enough script here to make the very earnest Paul Rust likeable enough, and too much goofiness to honor what could have been a very sweet, affirming film.
If only I could fold space/time and put Hayden against a young John Cusack, where he throws caution to the wind and faces down everything with the same gusto as his valedictorian speech. If only Beth could have really gotten a chance to feed and nurture the blossoming man in a last, desperate attempt to have some significance before her debutante life turned cruel...this would have been an amazing film. As it is, I had to settle for a Beth Cooper who looked as genuinely sad and desperate as Hayden Panettiere must have felt: both better than the mundane reality they found themselves trapped in. I hope she matures into the amazing woman and performer we got a glimpse of in "Beth Cooper."
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