Perfectly adorable

Charming and brutal

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

A nice and easy comedic drama, or dramatic comedy, with a little touch of romance, delusion and self discovery.Mercer, Lou T. Pucci's character, was well constructed. A little to cliché, but if clichés are something, they are a representation of truth that nobody likes to admit. The loner with serious self-esteem problems, no sexual experience, a crush on the hot/promiscuous young lady, a somehow platonic relation with a less promiscuous lady and at last, not at all least, the goal of a journey. Lou Pucci really got the essence of the part and the viewer falls in love with Mercer, and join literally him in the road trip through America.One of the greatest things in this movie is the journey. The way construct itself as they go, or as we go. There is this goal and that is it. Don't matter what the way or when we will get there, but we keep going until we start to come back. The next lead could send us to anywhere in the whole world and it wouldn't stop us from continue. Mercer would probably find a way to break a minor law and get away with that. On the other hand, how we hoped that the next lead was the final one, so Mercer could come back home? How much we were scared when he lost the car? How devastated we were when he lost Kate, and when he left Kate? It is fatal... When you inside someone's head, there is no way of not caring...Zooey's character for very long, as Wilson, the ball, in Robert Zemeckis' "Castaway", was some kind of bond between Mercer's mind and the public. She was at first just a beautiful voice, evolved as Mercer and ourselves evolved through the movie, acquiring a face, a body, feelings and history. Did she needed all of that to being likable? Not at all... She could be just someone who knew that the car would be back sometime, or someone who just want to know how it would end... Or just someone who didn't give a f*ck about the car! Her background history is shallow, and her motives weak... But is Zooey! And you will love Zooey... Even more after Jena Malone's Joely shows herself as a HUGE b*tch... In this movie Zooey deliver a more realistic character than you can watch in Peyton Reed's "Yes Man", Marc Webb's "500 Days of Summer" or in the TV big hit "New Girl". Her part in this movie actually reminded of her part in Adam Rapp's "Winter Passing"... Well, if you don't count the coke addiction as a key quality of her character in "Winter Passing".The music, mostly M. Ward, capture the atmosphere of the trip. A dusty and winding road, with a couple U-turns and some big rocks on the way as well some odd people and some lessons... And finally growth.To finish. I really liked the direction in the moments of parallel between reality and Mercer's thoughts or memories. Hynes made a very good work in expressing himself artistically. Many directors would not dare to use some low budget special effects, but when used to express a feeling and not just a image, you don't need groundbreaking special effects. You need a camera and feeling to know what to record.

This is a fairly enjoyable road movie that mixes elements of romance, comedy and coming- of-age genres. We follow young Mercer's quest to find his half-brother after their mother's death. He steals a car travels many miles and meets many odd characters along the way.Writer/director Martin Hynes probably tries too hard to concoct an odd story and as a result, the entire film feels a little too self-conscious at times. You can feel the writer's effort to make the various people odd, as opposed to organic and real. Lou Taylor Pucci gives a solid performance as the protagonist, Mercer. Jena Malone is great as usual, although her part doesn't add much to the story except as a plot element. I'm a big fan of Zooey Deschanel and here she shines again as Kate, the stolen car's owner who connects by phone with Mercer and has conversations with him. This not only provides the most interesting story elements but also serves as an interesting device for the audience to know what Mercer (rather the quiet type) is thinking and feeling throughout his road trip. Many other character appears, many of which are played by actors you will recognize and have enjoyed at one time or another. The one who stood out to me was Bill Duke, better known for his many roles in 80s action flicks. The cinematography is adequate, although a little distracting at times. Any road movie benefits immensely from a good score/soundtrack and this is definitely the case here. The music that is featured in The Go-Getter enhances the movie experience greatly and, along with the solid acting, is probably what prevents us from completely losing interest. Although I think Martin Hynes shows real talent, I think this is yet another case of an indie- movie that could have benefited from more people being involved in the formative stage. A second writer might have tightened things up considerably and led to a classic. As it is, the movie is enjoyable but we are left on our appetite considering the amazing cast and music featured here.

On first glance the Go-Getter seems like another cliché coming of age road film but it does a great job of taking the familiar plot but focusing the film in an unique way. Lou Taylor Pucci plays Mercer a 19 year old who steals a car in order to inform his half brother he has not seen in many years that their mother has died. Mercer is all alone with no family but starts to strike up a unique friendship with Kate the women whose car he stole played by Zooey Deschanel who gives a wonderful performance and is one of the most talented and beautiful young actresses working today. The road trip is just a backdrop for developing the relationship between Kate and Mercer. Martin Hynes does a good job developing this relationship while at the same time juggling Mercer's journey to find his brother as well as his journey of self discovery. Hynes also shows some of his skill behind the camera by setting up some beautiful shots. There is a dream sequence where Mercer and Kate are running across a beach with cowboy hats shooting at each other with old western style cap guns in slow motion with wash out colors and a glaring sun. There is even a great Godard reference with a recreation of that fantastic dancing scene in Band of Outsiders in addition to jump cuts used when Mercer and Kate first meet under duress. The conversations between Mercer and Kate are well written and shot and make up the core of this film. These conversations happen over the phone and as the film progresses and the better they get to know each other these scenes are shot with the actors talking directly to each other but with their voices dubbed with how they sound coming out of the phone. There is an impressive soundtrack with many great indie rock songs to set the mood such as tons of songs from M. Ward (who has a small cameo), Black Keys, Animal Collective and even an Elliot Smith song. This film may look like the same in a long line of "quirky" indie films but the cinematography, unique structure and acting really give this film a polish some of its contemporaries may lack.

I attended the world premiere of "The Go-Getter" at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. I'm not quite sure why, but this year's lineup seems to be heavy on heavy. I like a dark, moody melodrama as much as anybody, but whatever happened to the good old-fashioned road movie? I found the answer with "The Go-Getter." This film is all that and more. One part sweet love story, one part romantic comedy, and one part coming-of-age tale, "The Go-Getter" takes it all on the road and drives home a winning combination that will leave you smiling.Lou Taylor Pucci (Mercer) is a good kid, but one day he decides to chuck his bike and steal a car. I don't like to post spoilers, so I won't divulge more details other than to say that the trip on which he embarks will take him on a journey that would make "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" blush.Like any good road movie, he encounters one motley crew after another, a cast of characters all of whom get him just one step closer to the goal he seeks. But like a treasure hunt whose map takes him to places enticing enough to have him abandon his quest, he needs to keep his wandering eye on the prize. And oh, the temptresses who cause that eye to wander.Jena Malone is Joely, a sultry vixen (quite the change for Ms. Malone) who is determined to pop Mercer's cherry. What a breath of fresh air to see this versatile young actress take on such an empowering role. Women's Lib ain't over yet. Zooey Deschanel is Kate. It's her car he stole. And she is determined to get it back -- or is she? The "indie darling" gets her chance to shine here, and the tension that builds towards a possible reunion of car and owner holds this story together like a rope ties down a trunk when the lock is broken. We're never quite sure if it'll hold.And Lou Taylor Pucci has never been better in his role as the determined yet naive youth whose trusting nature and sense of wonder left me wanting to roll back the years to a time when everything was fresh and new. Pucci's sense of comedic timing and natural delivery is second to none, and while some of his dialog was indeed improvised, I was shocked to learn that the scenes which felt the most unscripted were, in fact, from the pen of writer/director Martin Hynes.In the Q&A after the screening here, I was fascinated to hear that a deliberate attempt was made to cast against type. As each of the three leads has a rabid following, Hynes' script was meant to give each actor's fan base something they had never seen before: Malone as Woman, Deschanel as glamour girl, and Pucci as, well, he got his hair cut, anyway. Hope and Crosby must be smiling at this winning team.M. Ward wrote the score, with original songs that left me wanting more. Licensing source material is pricey for an indie, but who needs hit singles when you have someone as talented as this brilliant composer? What a coup to bring him into this project. Byron Shah shot two films here at Sundance, "An American Crime" (which I saw as well) and "The Go-Getter." That alone says a lot about his eye for capturing this kind of character-driven story so well. Between Shah's photography, David Birdsell's editing, and Hynes' talent for allowing his actors to tell the story, "The Go-Getter" never wanders into pretentious indie territory. It stays accessible, which is why audiences will embrace this film wholeheartedly."The Go-Getter" gets it right. It's warm and funny and sweet, and at this festival of doom and gloom, what a joy it was to travel down this road.