User reviews

So does Alexis Bledel plan to build a movie career out of tracing the hypothetical life trajectory of the character she created on "Gilmore Girls?"

This is the second movie I've seen this year in which Bledel basically plays Rory Gilmore at the stage of her life she would generally be in if "Gilmore Girls" was still on the air. In this movie, she's a perky go-getter who's aghast when she finds out that the world will not necessarily adapt itself to her designs and whims, until...guess what....it does and she gets everything she wanted anyway.

This movie is harmless enough, but the only thing that makes it more worth your time than something from the straight-to-DVD bargain bin in the supermarket (or maybe this WAS one of those films) is a crazy and admittedly pretty funny performance from Michael Keaton as Bledel's doofus father.

Grade: B-

Now i'm not going to say this film was a classic or something you will want to watch over and over. What I can say about this film is that it was very surprising and offbeat despite the way the film was promoted.

Bandslam promoting take 2. Like the film Bandslam headlined by Disney stars, this film suffers from a lack of realistic advertising. Basically the film you think your going to see, you aren't. Bandslam was not a Disney film so much as a quirky teen comedy about diversity and the unification of those otherwise lone wolves for a greater cause.

Post Grad is essentially a film about a girl, Alexis Bledel, whose ideas of life post grad come crashing down around her when she realizes it isn't as she assumed it would be. Finding a job is much tougher then expected, and it doesn't help that she is unqualified, but over confident.

The film delves a little deeper with a lot of little subplots ranging from cute to over the top and strange, grandmother shopping for her own coffin.

The film was pretty offbeat and not as mainstream slapstick as it comes off in the trailers. It is a semi realistic film and Alexis does the best I have seen her do since Season one of Gilmore Girls. While she isn't Meryl Streep she plays the role of Ryden with great presence.

I thoroughly enjoyed the film and think that if it had better promoting and was targeted also at indie film fans, this film had the potential to be a hit.

Jane Lynch is also really great in the film, serving her character dutifully. Overall I was surprised and enjoyed the film, despite the negative reviews it has received.

This isn't a plant review FYI, check my posting history if you will, I saw the film, and enjoyed it. I would give it a chance. It's a fun light film, perfect to take your mind off the current state of economy and Swine Flu worries floating about.

A fun, fun film. Check it out!

Ryden Malby (Alexis Bledel) has planned her academic life since she was in high-school to get a college scholarship; now she has just graduated in English and in her master plan she expects to get a job as assistant editor in the publishing house Happerman & Browning, in Los Angeles. Her platonic best friend is Adam Davis (Zach Gilford) that has a crush on her and is frequently close to her. However, her arrogant classmate Jessica Bard (Catherine Reitman) gets the position and Ryden is forced to return home in the suburb to live with her optimistic father Walter (Michael Keaton) that wants to do everything by himself; her careful mother Carmella (Jane Lynch) that administrates the the short resources of her family; her eccentric grandmother Maureen (Carol Burnett); and her weird little brother Hunter (Bobby Coleman) that wishes to race in a boxcar derby. Ryden unsuccessfully seeks a job position and feels frustrated but is emotionally supported by Adam. When Walter accidentally runs over the cat of his next-door neighbor David Santiago (Rodrigo Santoro) with Ryden's car, they visit him to give their sympathies. Ryden feels attracted by the handsome Brazilian and has a brief affair with him, forgetting Adam that decides to move to New York to study in the law school of Columbia. Meanwhile Ryden is invited to join Happerman & Browning and she discovers that feelings cannot be planned.

"Post Grad" is one of those movies that professional movie critics hate and obviously will never be awarded or nominated or even participate in festivals. The low IMDb User Rating (5.1/10 with 2,128 votes) is an evidence of the foregoing statement. However, this romantic comedy is an enjoyable family entertainment recommended for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. The delightful film is funny and very pleasant, with a good message. Alexis Bledel, from "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants", is one of the most beautiful actresses of the younger generation and the role of Ryden Malby seems to be tailored for her. The Brazilian Rodrigo Santoro and the unknown Zach Gilford have good participation as romantic pairs of Alexis Bledel. The veterans Michael Keaton, Jane Lynch and Carol Burnett have an effective participation composing a very weird suburban family. The shameful DVD released in Brazil by Fox do Brasil does not have subtitles in Portuguese. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Recém Formada – E Agora?" ("Just Graduated – And Now?")

In a word: awkward.

Why on earth did I watch this film? I like Zach Gilford, and his performance was pretty good for the most part. But the movie itself? I can't really say anything good about it. Chunks of action/dialogue seemed to be missing, and some of the performances felt a little off.

The only thing I commend is, bizarrely, the DVD extras. They have some awesome career advice from experts like Marcus Buckingham, and other fun bits that felt like a breath of fresh air (especially to those who recently graduated) So, skip the film, but watch for the special features. It'll save you time, and you might learn a thing or two.

6/10

When the movie ends, you can summarize it in only one sentence. During the whole movie, we (two 18 year old girls) kept predicting what would happen next and every time we were right. It feels like they almost got it right every scene, but somehow only certain scenes lift up the quality of the movie. Most of the time those are the scenes with only Alexis Bledel and Zach Gilford. The parents of Alexis' character were very annoying -except for Jane Lynch- and we couldn't figure out what was the function of the son and the grandmother. If they were there to be funny, it didn't work. None of the funny stuff worked actually, except for a certain incident with an animal -people who've seen it will know-.

There were two things that kept our attention, mind you we're teenage girls, was Alexis' gorgeous hair and her clothes. Choice of wardrobe was fabulous.

in the end, this movie has many potential, they wanted it to be great, funny and dramatic but it just didn't work out that way. The storyline is too thin and the ending is very sudden, which is also very annoying. We've been watching the main character struggle the entire movie and then it suddenly all ends.

Only watch it when there's nothing better on.

Ryden Malby (Alexis Bledel) is a straight A student, but her life post graduation hasn't been going well. She loses her dream job, her car is crushed in a hit-and-run, and she's forced to return to her crazy family home. Her best friend Adam Davis (Zach Gilford) has a crush on her. Her nemesis Jessica Bard (Catherine Reitman) gets the dream job. Her father (Michael Keaton) and her mother (Jane Lynch) just want to help. The next door neighbor is a hot hunky douche (Rodrigo Santoro) who Ryden is immediately smitten with. Her eccentric grandmother Maureen(Carol Burnett), and her weird little brother Hunter (Bobby Coleman) also live in the house.

Alexis Bledel is a cute girl, but she comes off as self-obsessed. She has to be careful with that. It can be very unlikeable and whiny. The movie had the potential as a good rom-com. But it concentrates too much on Ryden getting a job rather than getting the boy. And Adam is missing for most of the movie anyways. There are some great comedic skills being wasted in this film. Michael Keaton is OK, but Jane Lynch is downright boring. Carol Burnett tries for flashy brash grandma stuff. At least she got a couple of smiles but no laughs. Demetri Martin does a cute bit.

Post Grad is obviously not the greatest movie out there. It's not going to win any awards, or be loved by the critics. However, it is still a cute movie that allows you to escape for an hour and forty minutes. It has some really funny scenes, and has moral lessons to teach. It's not being received very well and I understand why. It's just a light, fluffy, little movie more suitable for the younger ages. I admit, it could have been better but I wasn't expecting much from the beginning. It was simply a fun little comedy, and one that I'm sure many people can relate to. I didn't find Alexis Bledel annoying. She gave the role all it needed. Her love interest Zach Gilford, was cute and did a decent job. Michael Keaton was the funniest character hands down, and the rest of Bledel's family offered much of the comedy in the film. In all, it's an enjoyable film. I would recommend renting it though, it's not really a theatre-worthy film.

Coming into this one, I knew nothing of the movie and nothing of the lead actors (I've never watched Gossip Girl), although I've always liked Michael Keaton and, of course, Carol Burnett. It's a pleasant, effective coming of age-type story.

It helps that I didn't know Alexis Bledel before seeing this film. With no 'baggage' about other characters she might have played, I felt she was excellent in the role, giving a nicely understated performance, with a delicate beauty that gives her a definite presence on the screen. She brought a nice mix of perky gawkiness to the character, making the role quite believable.

Keaton was fun to watch, and Burnett has always been one of my favorites, and provided most of the laugh out loud moments (there were at least a couple of those). Zach Gilford (I've never watched Friday Night Lights either) mumbles a bit too much, and tends to get lost next to Bledel. But then, that's part of the character too.

While I cringed at some of the plot twists (including the ending), which seemed a bit too willful, the pacing of the editing made the film flow quite nicely, allowing the sweetness of the coming-of-age story to come through, without attempting to become slapstick about it. The supporting cast go a long way in helping to build the film's "universe." And that is the question I ask about this type of movie: Will I enjoy entering the film's universe for the duration? The answer for Post Grad: Yes, I did.

Alexis Bledel shone in the seven years of Gilmore Girls (well, six, I don't think anyone came out of the seventh season strongly) so it was no surprise that people thought she was strong enough a talent to carry this movie.

And to be fair, she is by far the best thing about this film. She's funny, she makes her character's story about life post uni, as well as dealing with a friend that wants to be more, relatable and true.

Unfortunately when the focus moves away from this and onto to her family life the film falls apart. Every 'quirky' character trait the writers give the family is unfunny, and normally very reliable actors begin to chew scenery. Michael Keaton in particular is embarrassing in this film.

Overall this is a film that's only good in places for this reason. It's a shame because Bledel works well with the limited material and needs more opportunities to show this obvious talent on the big screen.

Many of us can relate to the Ryden character in 'Post Grad'. Having been in a similar situation and knowing that Alexis Bledel would lead the movie, I decided to watch it. The film starts off well with an overenthusiastic, overconfident and naive Ryden going to her interview and then being 'bumped off' by an arch rival. The comedy works very well (except for the Michael Keaton belt lock sequence which appears like forced humour) but otherwise 'Post Grad' moves at a very slow pace. I think Vicky could have added more comedy and gone more in depth with Ryden's struggle. Alexis Bledel is very good as Ryden Malby and I hope she gets more fine roles in great movies in the future. Michael Keaton is a little over the top but it was good to see him after a long time. Jane Lynch is poorly underused. Carol Burnett is hilarious. It was only much later that I found out that Adam wasn't played by Gabriel Mann but by an actor named Zach Gilford (who is a splitting image). Overall, it's not too bad for a one time watch but it could have been way more fun.

One would expect that an actress such as Alexis Blendel would have something known as experience by now. Tragically that is not the case. Despite her sparkling eyes there is simply nothing from her side that could sustain this comedy. The only thing about her is her cuteness but that doesn't count as talent. Jane Lynch, Carol Burnett and Michael Keaton make this movie bearable. Sadly they don't get enough screen time in this flick. Other actors seem underpaid and thus unmotivated. Rodrigo Santoro plays some Hollywood Latino douche who, out of nowhere, comes up with a quote that turns the whole movie around. If you've seen the trailer, you've seen it all. Watch it if you're really bored or if you got a crush on Alexis Blendel - avoid if not. You have been warned.

Ryden (Alexis Bledel) has just graduated from college in California. She and her best friend, Adam (Zach Gilford) are mighty happy to be done. It is Ryden's fondest wish to work as an editor for a major publishing company in the Los Angeles area while Adam, an erstwhile musician, may go to Columbia Law School. Yet, on the day she finds the perfect loft apartment, Ryden loses out on the editing job. She has no other choice but to move back home, with her sometimes unusual family. Father Walter (Michael Keaton) runs a luggage storefront and is always looking for the "hot" new thing to sell on the side. Could it be belt buckles, he asks Ryden. Mother (Jane Lynch) is fairly normal but younger brother, Henry (Bobbie Coleman) is also a bit weird and wants to build a small race car. Last, but not least, Grandma (Carol Burnett) has cancer and does things like "test drive" the comfort of coffins at the local funeral parlor. Loving them is easy but living with them is difficult so Ryden sends out resumes and goes on interviews almost daily. Meeting a good-looking male neighbor (Rodrigo Santoro) helps somewhat. But, suddenly, Ryden's relationship to Adam becomes strained, for he may want more than friendship. Will Ryden get a great job and find true love? This is a sweet and funny movie, not grand, but very satisfying. Bledel is the main reason to see it, for she is very beautiful and surely has the bluest eyes in the world, as well as talent. But, Keaton, Lynch, Coleman, Gilford, and Burnett are all fine, too, especially Keaton in an unusual role. How wonderful to see Santoro, for he is very handsome and deft. Scenery, costumes, camera work and direction are nice, also. The script has a determined quirkiness and zest with some fun touches, such as a scene involving the shoot of a guacamole infomercial. In short, if you like romantic comedy and are young or young at heart, you will enjoy this little flick.

The storyline is mainly about the sobering process of fresh College graduates, who face "the real life" for the first time.

The lead female character finds out that sheer enthusiasm and confidence alone might not suffice in the attempt to secure a future one aspires to. The lead male character learns that a combination of avoiding difficult decisions and living in denial is hardly the wisest approach to leading one's life. Granted, those are hardly ground-breaking insights, but it may still be fun to watch the process of coming to terms with the reality that those insights refer to.

Most of the other characters are there for the comic element.

Finally, the acting is passable considering the limitations of the script and the light-hearted spirit of the movie.

Vicky Jenson's 'Post Grad' is a surprise from the year gone by, 2009. A film that entertains in those 87-minutes, leaving it's viewer happy, most importantly not making you regret the time you devoted in this flick.

'Post Grad' was a critical & commercial bomb, and that's unfortunate. Agreed, this isn't an amazing film in any aspect, but a film, as mentioned, that entertains. The film didn't get it's due, hopefully it should do profitable business in the video-DVD circuit.

The direction is decent, the writing is passable, the performances by Alexis Bledel, Michael Keaton, Carol Burnett stand out.

All said & done, watch 'Post Grad', it's worth a watch.

The storyline, cast, scenery, and such are remedy for a decent product. The more I see it, the scenes are yes quirky but believably normal. Some comments I've heard about this is that the 1 star raring is deserved but I wish this film was reconsidered considering the content. The editing may have been off or something but the meat of the movie is charmingly comfortable to watch. The lines are great, don'tcha think? I'm keeping this as more of a discussion topic rather than an actual review. From the house, the family car, the boyfriend situation, the temptations lurking next door, the cat scene, I mean there are so many parts to this movie that is lovable.

Decent watch, probably won't watch again, and can't recommend.

This movie is an embodiment of Murphy's Law and the fear of not having a job after college, with a "Guy Next Door" cliche mixed in. Immediately upon seeing the situation, there is an obvious conclusion.

While Michael Keaton and Jane Lynch are almost always fun, they don't have a lot to do in this: they nail their small, small parts, but there is only so much they can do from that position.

Alexis Bledel ("Gilmore Girls") really carries the movie, and she does it well enough: she can certainly lead a movie, I just want to see it in something bigger and better than this.

A lot of the movie is so generic that it almost feels like, "they'll get it" is written in the script. It took me about 20 minutest to realize its a college movie, not a high school movie, and it's heavily predictable.

It's not that it's a bad movie by any stretch, but there just isn't anything special here, and I really think I'll be arguing with myself in a year about whether or not I've even seen this.