Suburban Girl (2007)

Suburban Girl reminds me a bit of Eric Rohmer films of the 70s and 80s and other French films that takes time exploring a relationship. The characters are so well played by Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alec Baldwin that you can well imagine their lives will go on after the story ends; the young woman and the older man warmly recalling their love and of lessons learned.

Suburban Girl is so much better than the huge amount of drek in the cinema right now! If this is the fate of small, charming movies than I would highly recommend staying at home and buying/renting old Erich Rohmer, Claude LaLouche movies or if you don't care for subtitles than Howard Hawkes, Preston Sturges and the like.

There are many movies that are greenlit, production happens, and then by some weird command by the movie gods, isn't released. They hit DVD, and although you are somewhat intrigued to see it, still concerned, since it never got a proper distribution in theaters. I can honestly say, this film was better, stike that, way better than some of the crap that is getting a wide release and grossing little to none at the box-office. Sarah Michelle Gellar shines as Brett Eisenberg, an up-and-coming editor, and Alec Baldwin is perfect as her older mentor for whom she falls in love. It is a coming-of-age story, mixed with a great soundtrack, and the beautiful city of New York. The supporting cast, made up of, Maggie Grace (TV's "Lost"; "The Fog") and Chris Carmack (TV's "The O.C.") are great in their roles as well. All in all, go and get this movie, don't even rent it, BUY IT! You will want this for your collection.

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Though I did not think this movie was worthy of five stars, I did not think it was as awful as some of the reviews here made it out to be. The pairing of Alec Baldwin and Sarah Michelle Gellar was not altogether bad this was intentional in the movie. Alec Baldwin plays Archie, a sophisticated, older man who is also CEO of a successful publishing company who finds himself attracted to a much younger woman, Brett (Sarah Michelle Gellar)who is trying to establish herself in the cut-throat world of publishing. A May-December romance inevitably ensues with all the typical cliches Brett is initially flattered by Archie's persistent and charming ploys to gain her affection but as time passes and their relationship gets more serious, she begins to see the darker side of their romance. The typical stereotype of an older man trying to mold a younger woman to be his ideal partner is heavily conveyed here. Brett chafes at this but also craves his advice and mentoring a sort of mentor-mentee relationship.

Is this movie creepy? Not really, at least not for me the fact is such relationships are far more common these days, and the only thing I found wanting here was the lack of strong chemistry between the two leads. The romantic scenes (thankfully, the most these two get into in this movie is deep kissing) are subtly done without going over the top. No nudity or baring of parts here I do not believe it was the movie's intent to focus on the physical part of the relationship but more of the emotional connection Archie needs Brett not just for physical intimacy but more for the missing element in his life, and similarly Brett is attracted to Archie for his intellectuality and guidance. It's a sort of symbiotic relationship that gradually unravels as Brett matures and finds her own 'voice'. I liked the focus on the publishing world, and think this is worth a watch but this is not a romantic comedy.

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I just finished watching Suburban Girl, having waited to see it for several months now. A Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing is my favorite book, so naturally when they got my favorite actress (Sarah Michelle Gellar) to play the lead role I was so happy. Then it disappointingly went straight to DVD. After watching the movie, it is an absolute TRAVESTY that this movie was not in theatres. It has great dialogue, a well paced storyline, and both the actors (Gellar and Baldwin) were amazing! She is such an underated actress. What is refreshing is the way that the movie takes the same ending as the book, instead of making this a cookie cutter film with a happy ending. Don't get me wrong, there is a happy ending, it is just different that what you would expect. Definitely buy this: you will not be disappointed!!!!

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Three and a half.

I don't know that I would've picked this movie out at the video store. But since it was picked out for me I watched it.

Ambiguous is the word that comes to mind. Gellar as Brett is sweetly stumbling through life, attached to a boy and wanting a man, editing with angst, and completely unable to make a decision. Enter a man (Archie played by Baldwin) who knows what he wants (Brett) how to get it with the usual rich, charming, powerful man ploys but with a sweetness that almost brings Ahhh! moments. But the relationship is standardly Pygmalion and the end result is as expected.

What I liked: I'm a sucker for movies about writers, so two thumbs up there. Good acting and a nice range of opportunities to stretch with illness, tears, joy. Great writing, snappy dialogue. The sexual aspect of the romance is fairly low key and hidden and mentioned very little. Nasty language is refreshingly replaced with creativity.

What I didn't: Baldwin's character is creepy because there always seemed to be an agenda and an air of deception. It almost feels reptilian at times. The fact that he wants to shape Brett is okay but it doesn't always ring true. In a scene where Brett has too much to drink he actually finds her more appealing when she makes a scene. I also found that I didn't really care whether they stayed together or broke up. Brett's family didn't come off as multi-dimensional or dysfunctional as a family of origin so I didn't buy into her childhood issues as much as the script needed me to.

Overall, I think that if you can watch Alec Baldwin without shuddering at his personal life, you like the whole Pygmalion thing, chick-lit and/or Gellar, you might enjoy it.

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