Friday, June 17, 2011
Freddie Highmore portrays George, a teenager with more than his share of angst, in "The Art of Getting By."
Precocious teens are a movie mainstay: Saoirse Ronan in "Hanna," Ellen Page in "Juno" and Jason Schwartzman in "Rushmore," to name a few.
Now come Emma Roberts and Freddie Highmore -- my, how he's grown -- in "The Art of Getting By." It's about George, a fatalistic Manhattan teen who believes that since he's going to die one day, he shouldn't bother doing his trigonometry homework or writing that Thomas Hardy paper.
He was depressed and everything seemed meaningless, George (Mr. Highmore) tells a teacher who inquires about his absent assignment. George calls himself the "Teflon slacker" and has tried remedies from Ritalin to the antidepressant Lexapro.
- Starring: Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts.
- Rating: PG-13 for thematic elements including sexual content, language, teen drinking and partying.
Because he goes to a pricey New York prep school, where the students obnoxiously address the teachers by their first names, he gets away with this for a while. Well, years.
But even he may run out of scoldings and threats, just as his mother and stepfather's way of life seems in jeopardy and his relationship with fellow senior and mature-beyond-her-years Sally (Ms. Roberts) will either blossom into blissful love or stay idling in the friendship zone.
George is actually not afraid of death but life and has to either step into the fray or step aside. As with his artwork, he needs to be honest and fearless and quit listening to Leonard Cohen's "Winter Lady" on a virtual loop.
"Homework" was the early title for "The Art of Getting By," written and directed by Gavin Wiesen.
I have no idea if George is a fictional substitute for Mr. Wiesen. Whether he is or not, the movie suffers from several dramatic drawbacks: Although some of their problems (divorced parents) are universal, these students live in a rarefied Manhattan neighborhood that sometimes seems like a foreign country.
In addition to that, underage drinkers are served alcohol in a private club and public bar. What business would risk its license so teens can openly down shots, beer or champagne?
Adults are overly indulgent, lenient or impassive for too long, and an 18-year-old spends time with an adult in a relationship that is inappropriate or, at the very least, ill-advised. Even if the teen is a New York sophisticate, it's wrong on so many levels, and these kids too often act as though they are in college when they are not.
Rita Wilson plays George's mother, and when she responds to some negative news with, "Is it my fault? I've had a lot on my mind," you want to shake her. Sam Robards is George's stepfather, Elizabeth Reaser turns up as Sally's sexy mom, and Blair Underwood is the school principal.
The story may be weak, but the movie's leads are not.
Ms. Roberts has been much on screen of late, in everything from "Scream 4" and "It's Kind of a Funny Story" to "Valentine's Day," while Mr. Highmore has been heard recently more than seen thanks to projects such as the animated "Astro Boy." (He appears in "Toast," which screened twice at the Oaks Theater as part of the "From Britain With Love" series and should get a regular run.)
As his work in "The Spiderwick Chronicles," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Finding Neverland" proved, he's always been a wonderful actor whose quiet exterior hides a tender heart and agile, advanced intellect. If his career continues to advance, this could be seen as a key transition to adulthood rather than a highlight.
Walking out of "The Art of Getting By," I wondered whether it had been based on a richer, more complex book. It doesn't seem to be, again proving that it gets by, but just barely.
Movie editor Barbara Vancheri: bvancheri@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1632. Read her Mad About the Movies blog at www.post-gazette.com/movies.First published on June 17, 2011 at 12:00 am
Source: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11168/1154249-120.stm?cmpid=movievideo.xml
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