TS: 'Down to You' vs 'All The Real Girls'

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I only caught up with 'Down to You', a kind of post-teen romantic comedy with Julia Stiles and Freddie Prinze, Jr., last night... Stiles' agent isn't always judicious in his choices, and Prinze, Jr. is usually anaemic (no exception here); however despite countless problems I can't really write it off. Is this because relatively few films are really about people in their early 20s?

― ENRQ (Enrique), Monday, 2 August 2004 13:12 (twenty-one years ago)

All the Real Girls

― Velveteen Bingo (Chris V), Monday, 2 August 2004 13:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh yeah, the second half of my post would have been something like: 'what's the big deal with 'All the Real Girls'?' cz I almost died of boredom.

― ENRQ (Enrique), Monday, 2 August 2004 13:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Zooey Deschanel is hot. That's the deal with All the Real Girls.
Oh I forgot we're not supposed to talk about hot actresses anymore on ILX. Sorry. She is also a good actress.

― St. Nicholas (Nick A.), Monday, 2 August 2004 13:28 (twenty-one years ago)

all the real girls, even with one hand tied behind its back. the pacing is very mellow, but i didn't think that was a bad thing

― lauren (laurenp), Monday, 2 August 2004 13:31 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm such a jerk.
Ok.
I liked 'All the Real Girls' better because I am emo.
There.

― St. Nicholas (Nick A.), Monday, 2 August 2004 14:06 (twenty-one years ago)

i've never seen "down to you." i thought "all the real girls" had lots of problems, and doesn't really stick in the mind all that much. but i liked it. so, that.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 2 August 2004 14:20 (twenty-one years ago)

also "down to you" is a bad title.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 2 August 2004 14:21 (twenty-one years ago)

though, come to think of it, so is "all the real girls." (does anyone know how that title relates to the movie btw?)

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 2 August 2004 14:21 (twenty-one years ago)

no. i have no idea but i think it works, somehow.

― lauren (laurenp), Monday, 2 August 2004 14:24 (twenty-one years ago)

'Down to You' is a bad title that scarcely relates to the film's content, which involves 1) an attempted suicide by means of shampoo ingestion and 2) Ashton Kutschzchter as someone called 'Jim Morrison'. It has a kind of purity in that respect; I don't know if there is an actual film called 'Significant Other' for example, but you can see that that is a film title, very clearly.

― ENRQ (Enrique), Monday, 2 August 2004 14:31 (twenty-one years ago)

i don't understand.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 2 August 2004 14:42 (twenty-one years ago)

It has that title-y sound, you know?

― ENRQ (Enrique), Monday, 2 August 2004 14:49 (twenty-one years ago)

I haven't seen (or even heard of) Down to You.

All the Real Girls is one of the best films of this decade.

NO FUCKING CONTEST.

― jaymc, Monday, 2 August 2004 14:52 (twenty-one years ago)

All the Real Girls is one of the best films of this decade.

mmmmm, shoe tastes suprisingly good...

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 2 August 2004 14:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Here's what I wrote last year re: the title of All the Real Girls:

"As for the [meaning of the] title, I think I've cheated by having read almost every single interview or article about David Gordon Green available online in the last week. Although I guess the only comment I found from Green himself was that it originated as the title of a song that a friend of his wrote -- he didn't say any more than that. The suggestion I actually like best -- I don't remember where I read it -- is that it's a dedication: (To) All the Real Girls. Especially when you consider that Green and Schneider co-wrote this film, inspired by their own past relationships and aiming to present a "real" image of young love for once. To all the real girls who inspired this movie.""

― jaymc, Monday, 2 August 2004 14:53 (twenty-one years ago)

SHOE?

― jaymc, Monday, 2 August 2004 14:54 (twenty-one years ago)

OMG it really is emo

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 2 August 2004 14:54 (twenty-one years ago)

And that's one patronizing dedication.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 2 August 2004 14:55 (twenty-one years ago)

What do you mean, Ned?

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 2 August 2004 14:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Okay, I didn't want to hate on a movie that has made lots of emo people happy (well, you know) BUT ONE OF THE BEST FILMS OF THE DECADE? Oh come on!!!!!! I can hardly remember it, to be 'fair'.

― ENRQ (Enrique), Monday, 2 August 2004 14:56 (twenty-one years ago)

it begins very nicely.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 2 August 2004 14:57 (twenty-one years ago)

What do you mean, Ned?

Something about it just doesn't work. Whether it's the sense of a 'grouping' by some outside standard or not I don't know, but it feels really lame -- whoever suggested it was doing some weird projecting, I think.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 2 August 2004 14:58 (twenty-one years ago)

It was my favorite film of 2003 -- ergo, one of the best of the decade.

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 2 August 2004 14:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Ned, I kind of agree with you: I do think it's an attempt at literalizing a title that wasn't meant to be literalized.

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 2 August 2004 15:00 (twenty-one years ago)

was it even meant to be understood??

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 2 August 2004 15:01 (twenty-one years ago)

the title makes a lot of sense as a dedication. odd, i've never thought of that way.

― lauren (laurenp), Monday, 2 August 2004 15:02 (twenty-one years ago)

My favorite aspect of "All the Real Girls" is that it was a recent romantic movie that didn't make me want to kill myself, which is a short list (the only other movies on that list are "Eternal Sunshine..." and "Before Sunset"). Hence, it was a movie I could go see with my girlfriend on a date that didn't involve some assclown like Freddie Prinze, Jr. and totally unrealistic bullshit "romance." Plus it was sweet and made me happy.
EMO!

― St. Nicholas (Nick A.), Monday, 2 August 2004 15:02 (twenty-one years ago)

the cod-proletariat dialogue got on my nerves sometimes, as did the selfconscious "trivial" conversations, as did the "poetic" interludes which didn't really come off for me. but i liked the overall conception and the cinematography. and the sound design in a few spots.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 2 August 2004 15:04 (twenty-one years ago)

I like movies that make me cry.

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 2 August 2004 15:05 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm afraid all I remember about "down to you" was the embarrassing miming bit to al green. I never saw "real girls" but george washington was really sweet. david gordon green does come across as pretty pompous in interviews, though.

― dave k, Monday, 2 August 2004 15:05 (twenty-one years ago)

i didn't really identify with the characters but i guess the whole my-bf-won't-bonk-me-so-i'll-sleep-with-this-sketchy-guy-on-vacation thing was pretty otm.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 2 August 2004 15:05 (twenty-one years ago)

also the speech at the end about central park, and this being "our town" or something like that; this movie wasn't very good

er, xpost

― dave k, Monday, 2 August 2004 15:06 (twenty-one years ago)

The dedication aspects makes me think of ODB.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Monday, 2 August 2004 15:07 (twenty-one years ago)

All The Real Girls

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 2 August 2004 15:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Hey, suckaz, read the thread title. This is All the Real Girls VS. Down to You. If you badmouth ATRG, you are essentially casting a vote for DTY, and hence, casting a vote for the stench of Satan's anus that is Freddie Prinze, Jr. Do you want that on your conscience?

― St. Nicholas (Nick A.), Monday, 2 August 2004 15:09 (twenty-one years ago)

oh right, cast for his next film, an adaptation of a confederacy of dunces (is this still true per IMDB?):

Drew Barrymore .... Darlene
Mos Def .... Jones
Olympia Dukakis .... Santa Battaglia
Will Ferrell .... Ignatius J. Reilly
Lily Tomlin .... Mrs. Reilly

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 2 August 2004 15:10 (twenty-one years ago)

i don't mind freddie prinze jr.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 2 August 2004 15:11 (twenty-one years ago)

i think one of the trivial bits of conversation in atrg was the part that made me cry.

― lauren (laurenp), Monday, 2 August 2004 15:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Argh! That's like one of my favorite books and that cast looks SO BAD! Well, Ferrell could be ok, but ARGH! Well, actually the only really bad decision was Drew FUCKING Barrymore, but ARGH! I hate Drew Barrymore! ARGH!

― St. Nicholas (Nick A.), Monday, 2 August 2004 15:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Green has another film coming out before that, IIRC. Set in Georgia and starring the kid from Billy Elliot.

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 2 August 2004 15:13 (twenty-one years ago)

which part lauren?

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 2 August 2004 15:13 (twenty-one years ago)

when the young girl tells her father that she had a dream that he died asks him not to leave her. i get all mushy and teary-eyed, without fail.

― lauren (laurenp), Monday, 2 August 2004 15:19 (twenty-one years ago)

oh, well, that's not really what i meant by trivial.

i still have dreams/thoughts like that about my parents. it's pretty intense. i don't really want to get into it here.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 2 August 2004 15:24 (twenty-one years ago)

three years pass...

http://www.wholphindvd.com/blog/mward.JPG

― Heave Ho, Thursday, 16 August 2007 05:17 (eighteen years ago)

eleven months pass...

Down To You is hilariously bad

― milo z, Tuesday, 5 August 2008 22:01 (seventeen years ago)

I forgot until last night that DGG directed Pineapple Express.

― jaymc, Tuesday, 5 August 2008 22:07 (seventeen years ago)

'what's the big deal with 'All the Real Girls'?' cz I almost died of boredom.'

OTM, me too. i hated it but can't even remember why now.

― jed_, Tuesday, 5 August 2008 22:21 (seventeen years ago)

Theres not enough in All the Real Girls plotwise and yet there are too many "meaningful" moments.

is what i said in the other thread where i also descibed it as BORING, a word i rarely use.

― jed_, Tuesday, 5 August 2008 22:26 (seventeen years ago)

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