...a progressively endearing effort that boasts several superb performances and a brisk, downright fun sensibility.
Standing Still (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 22
Fresh: 8
Rotten:14
Average Rating: 4.8/10
Consensus: This coming-of-age film's young, attractive cast helps to mitigate the stultifying dialogue and uninspired direction.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for sexuality, nudity, language and some drug use
Runtime: 90 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Apr 21, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: A cast of talented beauties populates the screen for STANDING STILL, a coming-of-age film for the post-college, pre-mortgage set. Some notable alums of the teen culture sphere--among them, James... A cast of talented beauties populates the screen for STANDING STILL, a coming-of-age film for the post-college, pre-mortgage set. Some notable alums of the teen culture sphere--among them, James Van Der Beek (the title character of TV hit DAWSON'S CREEK), Mena Suvari (the teen temptress of AMERICAN BEAUTY and sweet square of the AMERICAN PIE series), and Coln Hanks (star of teen-com ORANGE COUNTY and WB sleeper ROSWELL)--make up an engaging ensemble of anxiety-ridden pre-yuppies, in limbo between the lackadaisical pleasures of campus life and the responsibilities of marriage and minivans. The story centers on the premarriage rituals of lovebirds Elise (Amy Adams) and Michael (Adam Garcia). Lubricated by alcohol, their separate bachelor and bachelorette celebrations bring up old anxieties, resentments, and of course, attractions. Each character surrounding the engaged pair has his or her own trouble maintaining a successful relationship. Lana (Suvari), a petite blond with an oversize chip on her shoulder, can't seem to date a winner; Pockets (Jon Abrahams) suffers from OCD and a pattern of sending his paramours running for breathing room; best man Rich (Aaron Sanford) is having trouble committing to his long-term girlfriend; hunky actor Simon (Van Der Beek, channeling a Matthew McConaughey cowboy attitude) is addicted to the flirtation game; and Donovan (Ethan Embry) is simply too awkward to attract any action. But it is goth artist Jennifer (Lauren German), playing the bride-to-be's former roommate and lover, who makes the biggest splash, throwing a dollop of doubt into Elise's heart, and causing some emotional, yet humorous, histrionics. The luxuriously lush Los Angeles backdrop adds even more visual pleasure to this breezy dramedy, while a rock-heavy soundtrack of mid '90s hitmakers such as the Dave Matthews Band keeps the energy pulsating throughout. [More]
Starring: Adam Garcia, Amy Adams, Mena Suvari, James Van Der Beek
Starring: Adam Garcia, Amy Adams, Mena Suvari, James Van Der Beek, Colin Hanks, Ethan Embry, Marne Patterson, Melissa Sagemiller, Lauren German, Aaron Stanford
Director: Matthew Cole Weiss
Director: Matthew Cole Weiss
Screenwriter: Timm Sharp, Matthew Perniciaro
Producer: Matthew Perniciaro, Trent Othick, Jeff Rice
Studio: Freestyle Releasing
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Reviews for Standing Still
The Swiss-quartz comic timing of the film’s ensemble cast makes its neurotic characters more compelling than your average cinematic slackers.
An independent, dialogue-heavy film that from the looks of it was made more with fun and passion than money.
This is a hit and miss romantic comedy with a few solid laughs and some pretty smart dialogue.
I continue to enjoy Van Der Beek's willingness to play obnoxiously against type -- it turns out as a big-headed hero, he's boring, but as a big-headed ***, he's a funny guy.
The efforts of an attractive and accomplished cast ensure that director Matthew Cole Weiss' feature debut is neither as dull nor as insufferably smug as it could easily have been.
There's just simply not one iota of originality to this exceedingly superficial and charm-deprived ensemble film. It doesn't help that most of the characters come across as entitled, navel-gazing twits without a smidgen of depth.
Don't send a gift. Send your regrets. This is one wedding invitation that can clearly, safely be declined.
The aptly named Standing Still, about postcollegiate 20-somethings, has the dramatic momentum of a daisy-picking toddler.
Standing Still wants to be an honest, earnest look at the difficulties of growing up and moving on, but it remains stuck in such a fantasy-laden milieu that the characters never feel particularly real, and their problems seem phony and arbitrary.
Despite the best efforts of its energetic young ensemble, this soft focus romantic comedy cries out for a sharper edge.
The entire cast is likable and good looking -- a combination that turns what could be cheerful, if fluffy, fair into something a bit more resonant.
If The Big Chill and American Wedding had a love child, it might look something like Standing Still.
The script (by Matthew Perniciaro and Timm Sharp) is trite, and the direction so flat that every scene looks like it was shot in a broom closet, but the bright young cast makes things more bearable than they should be.
The only more apropos title might have been: Standing Still While Talking.
Surfing the crowd in Altman-lite style, pic skims the surface entertainingly but goes limp in its stabs at seriousness.
A little gem of a movie - characters you just don't want to leave. Van Der Beek is good.
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