Good Dick - 2008

Movie #155

4 stars

Habitually isolated in her quiet apartment, a vulnerable girl (Marianna Palka) with a penchant for soft-core porn ventures out to a local video store, where she meets a store clerk (Jason Ritter) who vows to break down her emotional walls and win her affections. But as he pursues her in bizarre fashion, it's clear that their budding relationship will be anything but conventional.

Cast: Marianna Palka, Jason Ritter, Eric Edelstein, Martin Starr, Mark Webber, Tom Arnold, Charles Durning, Jesse Garcia, Josh Holt, Katherine Waterston, Elisabeth Waterston

Writer and Director: Marianna Palka

Tagline: What do you REALLY want?

Like: The one part that made this film is definitely the acting.  Jason Ritter did a FABULOUS job.  (and yes he's John Ritter's son)  This goes for both  Marianna Palka and Jason Ritter...it would be easy to think that they are creepy and need lots and lots of therapy.  However, these two play their role perfectly.  The viewer kinda feels sorry for them without thinking they are pathetic. 

Like:  the fact that the two main characters were not given names...but somehow the viewer can still become attached to them.  The credits simply state "Woman" and "Man"  Even though the viewer may connect with the two, being a little creeped out is still possible, which makes the viewer still intrigued by their lives.

Like: This film was daring.  On top of not giving them names, the ending is what most filmmakers avoid...confusion.  The viewer is not told directly what happens...it is left up to the imagination.  Whenever I watch films where it ends on a more open-ended note, at first I feel unsatisfied a bit.  Later, I come up with my own story to the ending...and these are often the films that I'll think about weeks, months, years later.

The only dislike that I have is that towards the end it's almost like it feels rushed.  Music joins the two characters' lives, cutting back and forth.  It is an ok technique, if the music is not terrible...and this music was prettty terrible.

Overall Recommendation: It's entertaining and fun...just don't let any young ones watch it.