Flopping Aces movie review of “The Graduates”

THE GRADUATES
“Careful. We don’t want to learn from this…”

GENRE: Drama, comedy
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Ryan Gielen
PRODUCER: Matthew Gielen
DISTRIBUTION: Independent production
RATED: None, but expect explicit language, sexual content and drugs/drinking

The Graduates website

The producer of The Graduates, Matthew Gielen, offered to give the authors of Flopping Aces an advance preview of the movie for us to review and we all heartedly accepted. The movie seemed to fit a genre which many of our young military guys and gals would love.

It certainly brought back memories of my own Senior Week, albeit there was a lot less zeitgeist than portrayed in this movie. My senior week was composed of sun, sand and a unending supply of Hurricane’s – delivered by my personal concierge. BTW -The bikini was pink, not red.

The writer and director, Ryan Gielen crafted a movie that reflects more Endless Summer than Porky’s.

The plot of this movie can be summed up with two words: Senior Week.

For those who are unaware, Senior Week, not to be confused with Seniors Week,  is a week long celebration of cheap beer, spontaneous hookups (for better or for worse) and red bikinis.  A memorable rite of passage into the complex puzzle that is adulthood.

The Graduates follows the senior week exploits of  childhood friends and their driver/guru.

Ben – the dark haired, blue eyed dogooder has dreamed of sharing senior week with his best buds before they scatter into the real world. He is also in a state of perpetual lust for Annie, the red bikini girl. The more I watched this character, the more he reminded me of Fry from Futurama – especially with the thing going on with his hair.

Nicky –  18 year-old wanna be gangsta complete a napoleon/daddy complex. He was the most entertaining of the ensemble cast. The actor had a great role and you could see he was relishing the part.

Andy – Here is a young guy suffering from a serious case of girlfriend separation anxiety disorder, coupled with a cellphone texting addiction.

Matty – Everyone’s favorite 18 going on 45 year old. He is the mister fix-it for the group – especially when Nicky picks a fight and Matty has to finish it. He is mature, confident and way too good looking to be straight.

Tom aka Tall Silent Dude – I liked the character and his ‘Cool Hand Luke’ vibe. You have to see him to appreciate it and his sunglasses.

Josh – The 25 year old driver heading to Ocean City, Md for his 6 or 7th Senior Week. Perhaps this time, he’ll get it right. He is the fountain of knowledge that the boys flock to when looking for help with the ladies. Is it me or does the actor seem to be channeling Kramer for this character?

The acting was natural and relaxed, with great chemistry between the starring characters. The script gives a measured look into the obscure world of male bonding and the first steps into adulthood for these guys .  The film is supported by talented actors who were able to breathe believability into the roles. Kudos goes to the writer for numerous references to safe sex! I give high marks for the film production, editing, post production and indie music score.

This movie is a great independent film capturing a time in life when your hair is long and your thoughts are short. Yes, I am channeling Kid Rock. It is a jewel of a film that these young actors and actresses can look back on twenty years from now without cringing. So can we.

PS:  If a girl pulls a lock of hair behind her ear,  that signals she wants that annoying lock of hair out of her face. It is the Little Blue Boxes, guys, not the earlobe!

Under the not-so-watchful-eye tutelage of his older brother, Josh, Ben and his three best buds – Andy, Mattie and Nickie – head to Ocean City with a host of other seniors for a final last fling during Senior Week. Each sets out with a focus on fun and their individual fixations… Ben on Annie; Andy stressing over his relationship with Melissa; rich boy Nickie. ever determined to be the big man despite his stature; and Mattie… the one seemingly sane and sage voice of the bunch.

The quest for 24/7 adventure reigns supreme, creating the physical and emotional chaos that ensues with parties, drinking and drugs, and soul searching. It’s a week long roller coaster ride with the characters consumed with the nonchalant passion of youth, and guided by their raging hormones and sexual confusion.

The witty “dude flick” screenplay about the rite of passage from carefree student to young adult provides more than a few grins as the boys, and their female targets, experience their individual awakenings about their sexuality, their future… and the value of friendship. Growing up is never easy… but this story is quick to remind us that easing into adulthood, and our moral principles, is a pain that’s hard to forget.

This is Gielen’s first feature length endeavor after several short films. His screenplay translates fluidly to the screen with well written dialogue, good pacing, and excellent scene introductions to the myriad of characters in the cast. The young, New York acting troupe performs well… each comfortable in their various characters. And if your graduation days are as far in the past as mine, it’s amazing how it still conjures up memories of high school friends and personalities from times past… There’s someone here that we all know – including the school hottie, the rich nerd desperate to be cool, the irresponsible who trash property with disregard and leave you holding the bag, and those pining for their unrequited love.

Production, lighting and post-production sound are astonishingly good for a low budget operation. Smooth scene editing, continuity, tasteful camera angles, and simple but stylish montages with an indy musician showcase soundtrack prove Gielen may be a young director to watch.

Skye and Mata went over the movie quite well for our readers and I would agree, it’s a good “dude flick.” The acting is good and believable, which is cool since all of these actors seem to be unknowns…at least I’ve never seen them before. The chemistry between the characters was excellent, and humorous. I think the most impressive thing to me was what the new director was able to accomplish in a indie film with a shoestring budget. Getting us bloggers involved was a good idea too.

From the opening scene you pretty much know what your getting into, a coming of age teen comedy. There was the usual drinking, swearing, sex and nudity and in the first fifteen minutes I was thinking to myself….American Pie 4, but I was pleasantly surprised. These one dimensional characters evolved into real people with real conflicts and will most likely remind you of many people you grew up with in High School. Good movie and well worth the time to check it out.

More to follow from the other authors

The bottom line: If you are a fan of that genre of films which focuses on drunk, druggie, sex crazed teenagers then go see this film. Otherwise, save your money for a GOOD movie!

As a younger man I made many a pilgrimage to Ocean City Maryland with a group of my college buddies. So it was with anticipation that I viewed this film about Senior Week at that vaunted beach venue.

What I learned from the film is that despite what our parents told us at the time, our excursions to Ocean City were much more responsible and mature by comparison to the bunch of folks in this film.

Sure, we did our share of drinking, loud parties and basic goofiness, but none of us were ever arrested, sent to the Emergency room or spent every waking minute obsessing about sex.

Despite an excellent young cast, interesting, almost cinema verite quality of filmmaking, I found the script to be one dimensional leaving the characters somewhat artifical. It’s one thing to make a coming of age film. But I kept thinking I hoped the characters grew out of it soon.

Independent filmmaking efforts like this one are to be encouraged. I just hope that next time the producers put a bit more meat on the bones and rely less on generic sterotypes about high school seniors. Just how many more movies do we need about stupid, drunk, druggie sex crazed teenagers?