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Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Michael Murphy, Hilary Duff, Melissa Chessington Leo, Evan Ross
Greta, a rebellious 17 year old ‘exiled’ for the summer to a sleepy Jersey shore community where she immediately informs her grandparents of her plans to kill herself by the time she turns 18. But before Greta can cross suicide off her ‘to-do’ list, she’ll begin an interracial romance with a young cook from a troubled background confront a tragic family secret and maybe even discover the promising young woman beneath her sarcastic shell. Just when Greta’s looking for a way out, will life find a way back in?
For those of you that may not hold Hilary Duff in high regard when it comes to her acting skills you are going to have to change that opinion on her after seeing her play Greta, a complicated character that she handles with ease and confidence. Seeing her in a more dramatic role for the first time to me shows her willingness to try and become an actress that people will take notice of and I got to say this is a great start. The film is about a troubled girl who gets sent off to live with her grandparents while her mother works on her third marriage. Greta tells her grandparents that she plans on killing herself before she turns 18 years old but life has other plans when she meets a young man she develops a relationship with. The film is similar to "Georgia Rule" or "Juno" but it still brings enough of it's own ideas to the table as well and the performances are believable and honest. This is a drama that is about loss, finding love and learning just how important family really is. Fan's of Duff are sure to love this film but I also highly recommend it to any fan of drama, you are sure to enjoy the story and I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the performance of Duff herself and her co-star, Evan Ross who plays her co-worker and love interest with a criminal past of his own. Ross and Duff characters are very different and the mix of the two combined with the two actor's chemistry really makes for an entertaining experience. After watching Greta I think that it certainly deserved more of a theatrical push but I think it will find a home on DVD once the strong word of mouth on it gets out.
Released by Starz / Anchor Bay
**** Out Of *****