Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

bob the moo In a small American town a group of friends have little to do other than hang around on the corner outside a convenience store drinking. Some have ambitions, some have none but they are all still there, much to the chagrin of the owner. Their empty lives are challenged though when a former classmate who has gone on to become a famous musician returns to the area for a gig and drops back to the corner to say hello.I was a bit worried that this would be a rather lacking comedy from Richard Linklater and was pleasantly surprised to find a well written drama played out in this rather stagy film. The plot is not really that strong but it doesn't matter because the story is in the characters and their lives; it is a direction that needed good writing and fortunately Bogosian has done a good job of making these characters convincingly real while also turning it into a look at the nature of life in suburbia. It does go to extremes in terms of plot devices and the events of one night but it still works well on both levels. I'm sure not everyone will enjoy the direction it takes but for me it was interesting to et to know the characters and see them change and interact over the course of the night.The cast sounded like a risk on paper but they actually do well and generally give good performances. Ribisi stops his character being a spoilt member of the "whatever" generation and, although he is that, he brings more out as well. Zahn is his usual annoying self but this time it is intentional and, in that regard I guess he did a good job. Bartok is a bit wishy-washy for his character whereas Katt actually fits pretty well. Support from Naidu, Carey, Posey and the rest is all pretty good and they support the film's focus on character and the look at suburban life for this generation. Linklater tries his best to move the action around and make good use of his locations but the stage roots of the script shows through and it does feel very stiff and stagy for the majority.Overall this is not a perfect film but it is much more interesting and engaging than I expected it to be. The characters may not be to everyone's liking (which will be a problem for many viewers) but they are still well written and well delivered by the mixed cast. Worth seeing and I'm glad I took the risk.

The_Void I'm a big fan of Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, as well as the excellent, yet little known 'Tape' - but this film, SubUrbia (silly 'U' in the title), doesn't live up to the high standard of the latter mentioned films. Linklater obviously has respect for drama and dialogue, but he's let himself down here because a lot of the action and words in the film are silly, and delivered by a bunch of caricatures. We've got the irritating feminist, the famous guy trying to hang out with his old friends, a rich bitch with a heart of gold, a drunk who cant take his beer, a drunk who can, a girl out of rehab and a guy who holds everything together, simply by being more drab than the rest of them. The cast try their best with their characters, and the film isn't 'boring' - but it stinks of a decent film striving for greatness, and it never even nearly achieves it. The plot is basically about a bunch of Americans 'kids' that hang around parking lots, as they have nothing else to do. The film takes place around the same time that some guy they used to know, now a big rock star, is coming home to 'hang out' with them.Not much of this film is really believable. I don't think that Giovanni Ribisi's character would ever go out with the irritating feminist, for example, and a series of things like this make the film really difficult to get along with. The film is based on a play by Eric Bogosian, so it's unfair to blame Linklater (who I actually like) for the film's shortcomings with the characters; but to be fair, his direction is lethargic and doesn't really get along with the hip style that the film feels like it should have. Most of the characters are annoying rather than likable, and this means that by the time of the ending; you really don't care what happens. This is made worse by the fact that this is one of those 'ambiguous' films that leaves itself wide open at the end. Writers really need to learn when to, and when not to, use an ending like this. Ambiguous endings simply don't work when it doesn't matter what happens, and rather than making you think as the writer intended; it just turns you off. I appreciate this film a little because I like dialogue; but to be honest, there isn't a lot I can recommend it for. I do like the song, "A Town Without Pity", used in the opening credits though.

Monica4937 I've always been a fan of Giovanni Ribisi, and seeing this film really made me realize why I like him so much. His performance is just amazing. This is a film based off a play by Eric Bogosian, which centers around a group of friends that pretty much spend their days and nights hanging out in the parking lot of a convenience store, drinking away their future. One friend in particular had broken away to become a successful pop star which only stirs up jealous feelings from his former childhood buddies upon his return. On a whole I think this film really offers something for those that are interested in movies that are intellectually stimulating. There isn't a whole lot of action, and the entire movie pretty much takes place at the convenience store, but for what it lacks in scenery and "effects" it makes up for in dialog and acting. 9/10

Charles Herold (cherold) I would be curious to compare this with the original play, which I've never seen. Bogosian is a great writer and Linklatter seems like an odd choice to match with a strong dialog writer, since he goes for this numbly, seemingly improvisational style. That style fits this subject matter perfectly well, and he does capture that bored, pointless bitterness, but I'm wondering if a different director with the same script might have managed to make something that felt a little more intense. This movie just sort of ambled along with interesting little bits of drama here and there. It's all sort of interesting, the performances seem pretty good, but I was never drawn into this and I never cared about the characters, although they were convincing.