Middle of Nowhere (2008)

Middle of Nowhere is an independent film and another example of a dark comedy that tries too hard to be funny. They had a weak storyline, but a very strong cast, and I felt it was a film that could have easily been a lot better. Dorian (Anton Yelchin) is a spoiled kid, who never had to work a day in his life. After yet another rebellious act against his parents, the seventeen year old is sent to live with his uncle for the summer. He starts working at the local water park, where he meets Grace (Eva Amurri), a girl who is his complete opposite. She is desperate to earn money for school and Dorian is looking to act out, so the two decide they can both achieve their goals by selling pot together. The story doesn't really make a whole lot of sense to me, because the characters are nothing like they describe themselves to be. Dorian is rich and only there for a couple of months, he doesn't need the money, so why take the risk? Grace, she's always had to be the mature one, taking charge of her family, but we don't see her do that at all. The film is definitely a bit strange, while at the same time being somewhat slow and predictable, but what makes it worth seeing is Anton Yelchin. The Russian born, former child actor, has such charisma and really thrives in roles like this. If you saw Charlie Bartlett, then you know exactly what I am talking about. Yelchin is on another level, outgoing, energetic, quick witted, he's the kid in this film, but as it would turn out, he's also the smartest one of all. Yelchin's personality is larger than life and he will completely draw you in, sadly, other than his performance, this film wasn't much of anything. The story is predictable, the humor is dry, and the rest of the cast really wasn't anything special.

i watched this movie a second time recently and it is even more entertaining and compelling on second seeing!there isn't much i can say here that hasn't been covered by the previous reviews on this page. praise is praise and i cannot praise this movie nor reveal anything the other reviews haven't competently revealed to the reader.my suggestion is to just watch this story as it is made for people who enjoy great characterization, intelligent dialog, and a story you will naturally find yourself wrapped up into!it's a shame good cinema gets ignored so in this country!

This is a surprisingly good movie about a recent high-school graduate (Eva Amurri) who's irresponsible mother (Susan Sarandon) has blown her college fund and destroyed her credit, so she gets together with a very moral but very misguided rich kid (Anto Yelchin)to deal dope in their "middle-of-nowhere" small town. A love triangle develops between the girl, her erstwhile "business partner", and her precocious, aspiring model younger sister (Willa Holland), but it is a largely unrequited one as she is uninterested in him and he resists the jailbait charms of her sister.Eva Amurri is a beautiful and talented actress, if a bit long in the tooth to be playing a recent high school graduate. Willa Holland is an unusually beautiful teenager who has since gone on to work in European films like "Summer in Genoa" (as an even more sexually precocious youngster). She does a good job playing an aspiring underage model. It's nice to see Susan Sarandon playing a completely unsympathetic role like this. The real surprise though is Anton Yelchin who I usually find incredibly annoying even in movies I otherwise like like "Alpha Dog". Instead of wanting to kick his teeth down his throat as usual though, I actually kind of liked his character here (although strangely this is the second time he played a sympathetic drug-dealer--he had a very similar role in the more famous, but overrated "Charlie Bartlett).A lot of credit also has to go to director John Stockwell. It's interesting that two of the more interesting and underrated indie directors today, John Stockwell and Keith Gordon, once appeared together as ACTORS in the very mediocre 1983 horror movie "Christine". Stockwell has come the closest to mainstream success (or, depending on how you look at it, selling out) with films like "Crazy/Beautiful" and "Blue Crush", but he does better I think with smaller pictures like this. I'd recommend this.

MIDDLE OF NOWHERE is one of those surprise films that appear to have gone direct to DVD - not because they are unworthy of theater showing but because they are thinking films rather than explosively entertaining/CGI/3D extravaganzas. The script (Michelle Morgan) is smart, the concepts are viable and refreshingly not overdone, the direction (John Stockwell) shows great respect for the talents of the actors, and the cast is as solid as could be assembled for a film about touchy subjects. The theme that is born at the beginning of this film and grows in importance right to the end is the parent/child conundrum: when is parenting adequate and what are the drivers for dysfunctional family units. Grace Berry (Eva Amurri, in a very natural and focused tough role) explains to a college scholarship counselor (Sharon London) that she needs financial aid to begin her higher education to become a doctor, but though she is a brilliant student, the counselor refuses to award a scholarship because of Grace's exceptionally bad credit rating. Distraught, Grace challenges her mother Rhonda (Susan Sarandon) when she discovers Rhonda has used Grace's name to open credit cards and has spent them to the limit. Grace needs big money to attend college and her summer job at the water park in town is minimum wage only. Also working at the water park is the happy-go-lucky Dorian (Anton Yelchin) who flirts with disaster, having found an 'extra job' selling weed to the rich folks of the city. After a lot of patter Dorian gently coerces Grace into being his driver (Dorian has no car, having been grounded for misbehavior by his grumpy uncle who is serving as relief for Dorian's adoptive parents), and the two begin a quality friendship that fills emotional and financial gaps in each of their lives. But the truth about Grace and Dorian's parents surfaces: Dorian was given up by his 15-year- old mother for religious reasons and has been placed with quasi-appropriate wealthy parents; Grace lives with the knowledge that her father committed suicide only to come to discover that the suicide was the result of discovering that Rhonda was (and still is) having an affair with his brother Bob (William Haze). Grace's discovery comes through a conversation with her Aunt Polly (Karen Bramen, in an excellent role for this new actress) and Grace's mother-favored younger sister Taylor (Willa Holland), and the revelation sets off a series of events that propels the story to an end. Yes, there are sidebars expected in stories of teenagers: Grace falls in lust with rich kid Ben (Justin Chatwin); Taylor rebels against her mother by cutting her hair thus ending her mother's obsession with Taylor's becoming a model and Taylor seduces Dorian; Dorian confronts his birth mother; there are fights where Dorian is injured and finds himself alone without family support. But without a sugarcoated finale, the film ends quietly, affirming the importance of friends - a kind of love than can replace gaping holes in family relationships. The movie truly belongs to Eva Amurri who proves she is becoming as fine an actress as her mother, Susan Sarandon. The film also allows Anton Yelchin to demonstrate a much broader range to his acting than he has been given before. The entire cast is excellent. This is a coming of age story - with far more attention being paid to the adult end of the developmental spectrum. Grady Harp