Movie Review - Lola Versus

Lola Versus (2012)

Starring Greta Gerwig, Joel Kinnaman, Zoe Lister-Jones, Hamish Linklater, Bill Pullman, and Debra Winger

Directed by Daryl Wein

Greta Gerwig is a fairly new face on the movie scene, but there's been a big push lately to have her be labeled the "Indie Girl of the Moment."  Although I haven't seen that many of her films, I do think there's an ease and naturalness to her and she excels at the self-doubting, insecure "brand" of comedy that she's tackled thus far.  She's certainly the best part of Lola Versus which seems like a film tailor-made for her (and maybe it was crafted with her mind), but the movie itself feels a bit stale.

Gerwig is Lola, a 29 year-old doctoral student working on her dissertation in literature while living in New York City with her long-time boyfriend Henry (Hamish Linklater).  When Henry proposes, Lola happily accepts and begins to plan out the wedding.  However, by the time the opening credits roll around, Henry is having cold feet and leaves Lola behind.  Devastated, Lola consoles herself by binge eating rice cakes, moping around her tiny apartment, and hanging out with her best friends Luke and Alice (Joel Kinneman and Zoe Lister-Jones).  Desiring some form of male connection, Lola begins to find herself becoming involved with best bud Luke, but when Henry realizes the error of his ways and tries to woo his ex-fianceé back, Lola finds herself in quite the predicament.

If that whole summary doesn't sound too thrilling, you'd be correct in making that assumption.  Here's this seemingly smart girl who feels that she "needs a man" in order to feel empowered.  Thirty minutes in, you just want the film to fast forward to the inevitable ending where, fueled by this newfound sense of "Girl Power," Lola realizes she doesn't need a man to have a fulfilling life.  Perhaps that last line should have come with some sort of "Spoiler Alert" warning, but the fact of the matter is that this film telegraphs its ending from its very opening moments.

Greta Gerwig certainly tries to bring some life to her character and she truly is the reason the film doesn't feel like a chore to sit through.  Nothing about the way she plays Lola feels "put on" or "fake" -- there's a genuineness that's charming.  But try as she might, Lola is a character we've seen before in many different incarnations.  The same can be said for the best friends played by Joel Kinneman and Zoe Lister-Jones.  Lister-Jones in particular is the stereotypical "sassy girlfriend" and while she's given a much more brash and sarcastic attitude, it just feels like an echo of any number of films that came before it.  And that's unfortunately the way the whole film plays out as its lack of originality proves to be its downfall.

The RyMickey Rating:  C