For the
sake of not having to write the same intro a million
different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that
this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull
process of full film reviews and instead opts to break
things down based on what I thought going in, what happened
while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.
Thanks for reading!
The
Breakdown - Flipped
The Impression:
Looks like an overlong episode of a little series called
The Wonder Years. But where The Wonder Years
were entertaining and oft times subversive in their
portrayal of a family living in the late 1960s, Flipped
looks like a typical generic turd from late-career Rob
Reiner.
The Reality:
Truthfully, this film plays out like seven episodes of
The Wonder Years stitched together with a sort of
Rashomon-type gimmick thrown in to trick the viewer in to
thinking that their actually watching something new.
The film follows, from both sides of the relationship, the
budding romance between headstrong Juli Baker (Madeline
Carroll) and daft-but-dreamy Bryce Loski (Callan McAuliffe).
There’ a lot of narration, a lot of lessons learned, and of
course a drearily happy ending involving first kisses and
families come to peace.
Yet the film doesn’t attempt to play out in a typical
fashion, it’s broken down in to a series of short episodes
each seen through the eyes and narration of the two blooming
lovers, each with its own dramatic highs and lows, a
denouement, and of course a happy climax. Tied all
together, yes, a narrative does emerge, but it feels
fractured because of the sort of segmented storytelling
presented. Each little part has the exact same feel and
structure, a sort of overtly 50s, bland telling of what it
was like to grow up.
I found myself in an audience that absolutely adored this
film and I thought to myself, perhaps this sort of
provincial storytelling, away from things that might inspire
uncomfortable reactions is the future of an America
constantly under attack by the conservative right. Or
maybe I’m just a cynical liberal who can’t abide by a film
that so egregiously supports such normative thinking.
The Lesson:
If you want to make money, skew far from anything
challenging.
Noah Sanders is the blog/news editor at Light In The
Attic and a contributor at Sound On The Sound and
the KEXP blog. He also has his own
Criterion-based film site, Criterion Quest.
If you'd like to contact Noah in regards to his
writings here at Side One: Track One then please do
so
here.
- Noah Sanders
- -
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