Post Grad

Movie: Post Grad

I saw it on: August 24, 2009

Cast: Alexis Bledel, Jane Lynch, Michael Keaton,Carol Burnett, Zach Gilford, Rodrigo Santoro,

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Synopsis: The movie opens on the graduation (from college) day of Ryden (Alexis Bledel).  She is on top of the world with a job interview scheduled with the publishing house of her dreams.  Her father (Michael Keaton), mother (Jane Lynch), brother and grandmother (Carol Burnett) make a memorable instance to the graduation ceremony. It is a toss-up as to who is the strangest family member: father, brother or grandmother. Her best friend is Adam (Zach Gilford).  Adam has been in love with Ryden for pretty much his entire life.  Ryden refuses to see him as more than “just a friend”.

Her job does not materialize and Ryden is forced to undergo the humiliation of moving back in with her very strange family.  Meantime, Adam is trying to choose between going to Columbia Law School or starting a musical career. 

The big question – other that if she will ever get a job – whether or not Ryden and Adam will end up together?

My two cents: A really good off-beat comedy.  Carol Burnett takes the cake for wackiness.  She shows up at Ryden’s graduation with an oxygen tank and Cheetos to munch on.  If you took Michael Keaton’s role from Night Shift, toned it down and matured him by 25 years – you have Ryden’s dad. 

Ryden’s brother, Hunter, is played by Bobby Coleman.  I could not remember what I knew him from until I looked him up.  He was the kid in “Martian Child”.  I have to say, his character in this movie was almost as strange as the one in Martian Child.

One other character was Adam’s father - played by J.K. Simmons – who seems to be in every other movie I see.  Which is great, because he never disappoints.

If you are a Gilmore Girl’s fan, you will like this movie.  Ryden reminded me very much of Rory Gilmore – both were great students, both are addicted to books.  The only difference is that Ryden wants to be a book publisher rather than a journalist.  Alexis Bledel still has those beautiful blue eyes.  I liked her in this movie better than the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies.  You can see that she is right on the cusp of being an actual adult.  I know – she is 28 years old, but she still has the last few traces Rory Gilmore in her.

Since I am a sucker for romantic comedies and a big Gilmore Girl’s fan, I expected to like this movie, and I did.  Ryden’s family as a whole ranks right up there in their collective weirdness.