Dinner in America

Quirky, offbeat comedy centered around two intensely unconventional characters. Much of the film is spent passive aggressively or all-out aggressively railing against banality and status quo in the American suburbs but there is also a sweet, heartwarming core and a lot of charm. It did feel a little long in the 2nd half without quite as much momentum as the 1st but overall this was a really enjoyable and unusual film.

Adam Rehmeier's "Dinner in America" is without doubt the best serio-comic punk-outlaw indie movie to have come along since I don't know when. Although it doesn't go too far off the beaten track of dozens of other 'youth' movies, (even blatantly stealing a gag from "Heathers"), I can't think of many as fresh or as likeable as this one. It's your old-fashioned boy-meets-girl plot though neither the boy nor the girl fit the stereotypical roles that might suggest.

He's a punk rocker but since he keeps his face hidden under a mask when performing nobody knows his real identity and she's a nerdy fan generally regarded by everyone she meets, (including her family), as 'retarded'. They certainly don't meet cute, (he's on the run from the police and she hides him), and they don't hit it off straight away until her 'secret' becomes the key that unlocks his bad-boy heart, (he likes to smash things and set fire to people's property).

Despite its propensity to violence and a screenplay as foul-mouthed as any in recent movies this is definitely a sweet-natured movie and as their unlikely romance blossoms you will undoubtedly find yourself cheering for it to succeed. As the central pair of lovers both Kyle Gallner and especially Emily Skeggs are absolutely terrific and I am sure both they and writer/director Rehmeier have the brightest of futures ahead of them.

Dinner In America is a heartwarming story about an unexpected relationship between two young adults, Patty and Simon. Despite it's rauchiness, it encapsulates the toughness of the world while simultaneously bringing happiness to light in a unique way. While it may not do it perfectly, it's a great film to watch between friends-From laughing to scrunching your nose at the questionable, this film will keep you interested to see what happens next. Although I had my doubts at the beginning of the movie, the ending was pleasantly surprising, as both characters share traits that one wouldn't expect at first glance.

Dinner in America, a interesting mix of a absurd comedy romance, filled with over the top characters and poking fun at everyone whilst it can. It's a fun and easy movie to watch, and flew by.

Directing was perfectly fine, it looks the part, colors are great and some scenes really stick out. Besides that it's fairly standard.

Story/writing/acting, this is the meat and potatoes of the movie and is where it is strongest, the writing with the oddball characters instantly made it interesting to me, the whole contrast of Simon versus Patty, and the family dinners scenes were great. It's writing borders on parody and it makes the movie a lot of fun, with some standout funny moments. It's not a typical comedy with a joke every few minutes, but it's a nice balance between the action, romance, and comedy aspects. The story in general was good, the ending decent though I thought the whole finale was wrapped up somewhat quick. I wish we spend a bit more time with them after the basement scene. Music is good too.

Acting is strong, Gallner shows again he can handle pretty much any role and is making me want to find more of his work, and Skeggs surprised me with her quirky, fun and endearing performance. Perfectly cast.

Fun and quirky movie that went under the radar.

The first 15 to 20 minutes struggled, with the cuts too sharp and the dialogue a little clunky. However, stick with it - once it got going it found a good pace with a light tone, comedic moments and some highlights that were genuinely touching. I didn't think it offered anything new in regards to the story (ultimately it's a bad boy and a 'weirdo girl') but it was so well done with thorough, fleshed out characters, that it was very hard to find anything to dislike about it. It felt genuine and, importantly, it offered something different to what gets churned out nowadays. Plus points for a catchy headline song as well.