Having followed the film career of Destin Daniel Cretton before his hit short film "Short Term 12" at Sundance (now an award-winning feature film), I can say this first feature is an absolute pleasure (from the standpoint that it is really strong, well-written and performed, and evokes a distinct tone and voice). The title is such that it brings about certain expectations before watching the film...these expectations are then totally shattered. While set in the indie music/hipster culture of San Diego, the film does not spend its time finding ways to poke fun at its characters (there are a couple of jokes about cell phone photography and fixie bikes). The title is in this way ill-fitted, but at the same time perfect as it prepares the viewer to be completely surprised by the film's sincere and emotional journey of the protagonist, Brooke, as he tries to be less pessimistic to find some silver linings in his relationships, understand the parameters of artistic expression as a singer/songwriter, and just in general be more of a true- to-yourself individual (that is more genuine than a hipster-yes, the title has relevance!). In short, the film is a great character study on our relationships with others and highlights this with a fantastic original score and songs by Joel P. West (The Tree Ring).
