Greener Grass (2019)
7/10
A very promising debut from a sincerely absurd power duo
6 August 2020
I was greatly pleased with this shot-in-the-dark viewing. This is a praise-worthy debut from lead actresses/writers/directors Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe, and they have solidified my attention towards whatever they do next. Though this movie is entirely it's own thing, and that's it's greatest strength, the only thing I could compare it to is existing somewhere within the realm of Me & You & Everyone We Know crossed with Todd Solondz, and Tim & Eric.

The music is great. The neon color palette pops all the way through. The farcical concepts are endless, making the film extremely unpredictable. The editing is a ton of fun. The acting is committed and thus immensely enjoyable. There's really nothing very graphic that occurs, which means you could even watch this bizarre fruit snack of a film with a child and they'd probably love it (if they're cool, but if you're cool enough to watch this with them, and you're their parent, that means they're most likely cool too).

It's got that cute little kid with big glasses from The Housing of Hill Haunts and Colored Out urv Sperse - finally he's in something good (this). Only problem is that he transforms into a dog 1/3 of the way in (this is not a spoiler because it's in the trailer) and then we lose the magic of his presence. Really, the primary thing that stops this film from ranking higher is that a linear plot feels pretty much entirely absent, as does any sort of expansive conflict. It really does feel like it just floats from one scene to the next with not much of a connecting story, but, I do believe that this film is something special for that reason. It's not gonna please everyone, but for fans of the surreal and the absurd, this is an instant cult classic that should be on your radar.
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