Stateside (2004)

"Stateside" is a quirky romantic comedy. Mark (Jonathan Tucker) is a prep school student with a strict father who sends him to the Marines; Dori (Rachael Leigh Cook) is an aspiring musician with a temper and mental problems. They do a good job of introducing us to the characters; both are quite likable.The film picks up when our leads are falling in love. The comedy aspects are funny and the romantic aspects are cute. The film gets dramatic at times. In my opinion, too dramatic but the film-makers had things they wanted to say, and I think they wanted to make this a "bigger" film than just a romantic comedy.The film has a great soundtrack and they got me in a great mood to start the film with Elvis Costello during the opening credits. I recommend "Stateside" for movie fans who want more to their romantic comedies.

Stateside breaks the mold of teen love stories. Though it might not appeal to a mass audience of younger teens, this movie appeals to people ranging from young adults to baby-boomers and gen-x-ers who lived through this period. The cast is stellar, and the direction seems solid and the camera-work deliberate. The real-life Marine experience of director of Reverge Anselmo brings a sense of realism to the film that is often lacking in pictures about the military – which tend to be heavy with political rhetoric and are often written by people who experience wartime from Berkley CA.This picture is enhanced by a spectacular soundtrack that compliments the film well. It's always a good sign for a film when major actors accept minor roles. Stateside finds Penny Marshall having an un-credited role as a nurse, and Carrie Fisher as Mrs. Dubios – a part which is concentrated in mostly one scene. Val Kilmer and Joe Mantegna combine for about 15 minutes of screen time.The reviews for this movie were mixed. However, I find it impossible to change the channel when it comes on TV, and it's quickly climbing my short-list of favorite films. Clearly not everyone will like this Stateside. It does have continuity issues, and there are some dialogue and plot details that don't make sense until the second or third time you see it. And I agree that the ending is slightly abrupt. However, if you're looking for a romantic movie or a hidden gem drama, you can do a lot worse with an hour and a half of your life.

I think all movies with plot developments that stretch a little bit should use the 'based on a true story' tag. With that you can get away with anything. What really happened in your true story? What did you shoehorn in there to make this point or that, or to throw viewers off the scent of trying to figure out who your actress girlfriend was?Val Kilmer was the most pleasant surprise of the movie.What was with the sequence where the rejected hero went drinking and hit on women with delightful facial pores and that had a predilection for taking shots of blue liquid and ended with a minor car accident with no consequences.Stateside had plenty of blind alleys like that. You don't have to smack me over the head to demonstrate plot points but several times there were inserted scenes of characters doing everyday things that neither advanced the plot, nor developed the characters, nor conveyed a relevant tone. It recalled She's under the Influence except done sloppily or ineffectively.The dialog was different. It had a spare poeticism that hit home at some points like when the father and the hero leave the courtroom. The dialog was stylizedatmposherics when coming out of the mouth of the Marine drill Seargeant. The dialog tried to convey too much complexity like when the worker who runs the group home explains why the hero can't see Dorie anymore. At all times, however, I could not escape hearing the voice of the screenwriter coming out of the mouths of each of the characters.There were other examples of self indulgence. Like at the school dance where the hero was herded into a group photo with a bevy of negligible characters. He used a snapshot freeze frame device which served little emotional purpose except to perhaps recreate one of the filmmaker's favorite photos of himself.What saved the movie for me were the scenes between the hero and Dorie. It felt genuine. When you create a new reality with someone, your language bends around that reality and the dialogue and performances conveyed that nicely.I'm all for subtlety and experimentation and extending or having fun with clichés. This movie had all of those, but it seems that the filmmaker could stand to polish his storytelling craft a shade or two better.Regarding identifying the mystery girl. Some possible hints:The name Exene was tossed around in the apartment with the band before the implied gang bang. Like maybe the band the mystery girl was in had some sort of connection to LA Punk band X with Exene Cervenka?The scene from the 'movie' Dorie was in seemed Bond like.Evil Dead came up in a conversation, though it seemed like she wasn't in that movie. Then later he went to see Evil Dead. Maybe the mystery girl was in evil dead. Most people in that movie other than the chin guy didn't make too many movies after evil dead.

I saw a prescreening of this lovely movie. It explores fresh exciting territory while telling an extremely realistic teen love story. When the leads sneak around and struggle to be together, it has the romance and fun of ROMEO AND JULIET. In other ways it reminds me of THE MAGDALENE SISTERS in that it tells a story that is important for people to see. However, just like in Magdalene Sisters the message doesn't interfere with the high level of entertainment. The mental illness doesn't take over the film. It just provides a unique obstacle that the lovers must get over to be together.The acting is excellent and the all the characters are really alive, flawed,passionate and interesting. All in all, this is a warm and funny movie.