All the Real Girls

Two weeks after watching this low-budget, slice-of-downtrodden-life, struggles-of-young-love drama, I sat down to write what I thought would be a positive review. But when I barely remembered the film, I realized that whatever positive impression it left sure didn't last. A rocky romance about a North Carolina mill town's young serial lothario (Paul Schneider) falling in love for the first time with his best friend's fresh-from-boarding-school sister (Zooey Deschanel), I do recall thinking that a) the tenderness between Schneider and Deschanel had a serene ring of lingering-in-a-moment authenticity, b) the talented, low-key Deschanel had finally gotten her chance to shine after playing third banana in movies like The Good Girl and Almost Famous, and c) that Schneider's bland looks and wallpaper personality (which shows no hints of cockiness or seductiveness) gives him zero credibility as a small-town stud. Writer-director David Gordon Green (2000's George Washington) has a gift for creating atmosphere, yet the experience of the movie as a whole is still a faded blur of humdrum minimalism. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by writer-director David Gordon Green and co-writer/costar Paul Schneider, a 19-minute “Improv and Ensemble: The Evolution of a Film” making-of featurette, four deleted scenes (11 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a somewhat forgettable film.] (R. Blackwelder)