Very Good Girls

Very Good Girls

Official movie poster
Directed by Naomi Foner
Produced by Norton Herrick
Michael London
Mary Jane Skalski
Written by Naomi Foner
Starring Dakota Fanning
Elizabeth Olsen
Boyd Holbrook
Demi Moore
Richard Dreyfuss
Ellen Barkin
Peter Sarsgaard
Clark Gregg
Music by Jenny Lewis[1]
Cinematography Bobby Bukowski
Edited by Andrew Hafitz
Dylan Tichenor
Production
company
Groundswell Productions
Herrick Productions
Distributed by Tribeca Film
MG Film
Release dates
 June 24, 2014
Running time
 91 minutes [2]
Country U.S.
Language English
Box office $6,940 [3]

Very Good Girls is the first feature directed by American screenwriter Naomi Foner, whose script for drama Running on Empty was Oscar-nominated. First screened publicly in early 2013, the coming-of-age drama stars Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Olsen as two friends who fall for the same man (Boyd Holbrook). The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2013; it was given release on home formats on June 24, 2014.

The supporting cast includes Demi Moore, Richard Dreyfuss, Ellen Barkin, Clark Gregg, and Peter Sarsgaard. The film was produced by Norton Herrick, Michael London, and Mary Jane Skalski.

Synopsis

Best friends Lily (Fanning) and Gerri (Olsen), are home for one last New York summer. Gerri and Lily decide to run naked on the beach and into the water and they both laugh as people watch them swim. Gerri runs into the ice cream sign of a guy selling ice cream on the boardwalk. She apologizes and tries to make conversation, however he is more interested in Lily. Lily is rude to him in defense of Gerri. As both girls ride away, the guy takes a picture of Lily from the back.

When coming home from the beach, Lily goes to get her father for dinner, when she walks in on him kissing another woman in his office. Lily is obviously upset by this, but chooses not to say anything to her mother. Upset with what she just witnessed, she goes over to Gerri's to talk to her. Gerri's family is much more open and commutative than hers. They talk about sex and politics, which comforts Lily, being that this is completely different than the silence in her house. Lily talks about leaving for Yale in the fall and complains about how her boss is a perf. Sitting outside later that night, both girls discuss the fact that they are 'the last ones' and decide make a pact to lose their virginity before leaving for college.

Lily is boat tour guide in Manhattan and while walking to work, the guy from the boardwalk (Holbrook) they met before notices her crossing the street. He decides to post the picture he took of her around the block asking where she lives. Lily later sees them on the way home and blushes. While talking to Gerri later that night, she realizes that Gerri also has a crush on the guy from the ice cream stand, saying that she saw matches on his stand with a restaurant name on them. She went to the restaurant the night before and found out his name is David. Lily, planning on telling Gerri about the posters around the block of her, decides not to since she can see Gerri likes David. The next day, Lily goes to the boardwalk hoping to see David. They run into each other on the beach and he asks her to come and hang out with him. She says she doesn't think she should, but gives him her address. Later that night, while listening to Gerri sing her song she wrote, Gerri tells Lily that she called the restaurant where David works in hopes of talking to him. However, he wasn't there. Lily responds with, "you barely even know the guy," making Gerri feel insecure. Lily then returns home to find her mother crying with knowledge of her father, Edward's affair. Lily yells at her mother asking her to have their father stay since she doesn't want the family broken up. Norma then asks her to leave the room since she is upsetting her and her sisters. Lily sits outside on the porch and is greeted by David who she goes to hang out with. They go to a studio apartment his friend lets him stay in if he acts like security for the place. Lily learns that David is an artist and he wants to travel the world. This is very attractive to Lily since she herself wants to leave. David kisses her, but tells her that she better get home. Lily then asks David if he is really going to see Gerri on Friday. He doesn't answer and Lily leaves. The next night at open mic night, Gerri discusses her date with David. She is confused as to why he didn't want to hook up with her. Last minute, David shows up to see Gerri sing. Lily and David sit next to each other and listen to Gerri perform the song she wrote about him. David then takes Lily's hand and holds it under the table. The three of them have an awkward goodbye, as David walks away without giving Gerri a hug, which confuses her. The two talk as they walk further down the block about Lily's dad and the affair which leads to Gerri saying that, 'you should be able to trust the ones you love most.' Feeling guilty about David, Lily decides to go home early, while Gerri meets up with other musicians.

The next day at work, Lily's boss (Sarsgaard) flirts with her and asks her if she wants any night shifts. Lily says she is running late and heads to Gerri's. Kate (Moore), Gerri's mom lectures Lily saying that she needs to make clear boundaries with her boss. Walking home, Lily finds David waiting outside her house. She tells him that she doesn't understand what he wants, but instead of answering her, he kisses her and the two have sex in her garage on sleeping bags. The next morning while on her way to work, Lily finds the sleeping bag rolled up in the garage with the Sylvia Plath book of Poetry, which David had her read some when she was first at his place. She runs into her father who asks her to have dinner with him and apologizes for leaving the house. She says no and walks to work. Later that day while at a cookout with Gerri and her family, Gerri says she invited David to the cookout but he said he couldn't come.

After an awkward encounter with her mom, Lily takes a shower in which David sneaks in through the window. The two have sex in the shower. They later go around the city posting David's art. They dance and David takes their picture together. The two have sex later that evening, where Lily and David talk about their greatest fears. Lily calls her mother to tell her that she won't be home for dinner, when she tells Lily that Gerri's father died and she has been trying to contact Lilly all day. Lily, obviously upset leaves David to be with Gerri.

Gerri breaks down to Lily saying that now her life will never be the same now that her dad is gone. This encourages Lily to ask her mother to forgive her father. Gerri talks to Lily how she wishes David were here for her and that she can't stop thinking about him. Meanwhile, David keeps calling Lily in which she keeps ignoring them. On her way to work, Lily rebuffs David and asks him to go see Gerri. David goes to see Gerri and she breaks down to David and asks him to make love to her. The two kiss and he comforts her. At her father's memorial service, Gerri tells Lily that her and David made love and she lost her virginity. Lily, upset goes home and later that night, after calling David and getting his voicemail, decides to kiss with her boss on the tour boat. The two start to fool around, but when he leaves to get a condom, Lily runs to David's place. She asks him why he had sex with Gerri and as she is leaving, tells him she had sex with her boss. The next day, Lily comes home to her dad and mom cooking in the kitchen. They tell her that they are back together.

While hanging out with Gerri in the park, Gerri asks Lily if she should call David. Lily snaps at her and tells her that she is making a fool of herself and should leave him alone. Taken back by what she said, Lily apologizes and leaves abruptly. David later confronts Lily asking her to tell Gerri how everything happened and says that he didn't sleep with Gerri. Lily storms off ignoring him. While Gerri and David hang out in the gardens, Lily sees them and afterwards, Gerri tells Lily that David told her that he is leaving for Paris the next day. Lily goes to David's place to say goodbye and tells him that she never slept with her boss and said that to hurt him. David tells her that she is full of it and soon there won't be anyone left to play with. As he gets a cab, he kisses her goodbye and leaves. While walking away, Lily sees that Gerri saw the whole thing. Confronting Lily, Gerri becomes furious, calls her conceited and yells at her for 'playing God when her father died.' Devastated, Lily runs after her apologizing and Gerri runs home.

Lily later confides in her dad, saying she lost her virginity and explains the situation with Gerri. Her dad tells her that people aren't perfect and sometimes it's harder to forgive yourself. He also tells her that people are full of surprises and thanks her for telling him. About to leave for college, Lilly is packing up the car when Gerri comes over and hands her a photograph David sent her, therefore making sure the two of them saw each other after he left. The two girls make up and Gerri tells her that she actually never slept with David because he told her that he was in love with someone else. The two end up dancing in their underwear with Lily's sister while the sprinklers come on.

Cast

The film deals with female sexuality and friendship in a way we haven’t seen before. These girls will be stunning young women in a couple of years, but they’ve struggled through high school with only each other. Most of us have been there. This is the summer where they finally get to touch real life.

—Naomi Foner[4]

Production

Production company Herrick Entertainment announced on July 20, 2012, that principal photography had begun in New York City.[1] Herrick was producing and financing the project, with Michael London's Groundswell Productions also producing.[1]

Shooting locations included Ditmas Park, Brooklyn.[5]

Cast-member Peter Sarsgaard is the son-in-law of writer-director Naomi Foner, who is the mother of his wife, Maggie Gyllenhaal.

In January 2012, Anton Yelchin was in final negotiations to play a part in the film, but he is not listed in the final cast.[4]

Release

The film was released on June 6, 2014 through iTunes, Amazon Video, Vudu, and VOD. The film started a limited theatrical release in the United States on July 25, 2014.[6]

Reception

The film received negative reviews from critics. It has accumulated a 19% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 31 reviews. The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "a limp directing debut" for Foner. The film's outdated "counter-culture" sensibilities made it appear "frozen in time". It found the characters unconvincing, criticizing the "artificiality" of the love interest who asks the lead character to "read a couple of lines of Sylvia Plath before their first kiss".[7] We Got This Covered called the film "insincere from bottom to top," expressing disappointment that "its innate lousiness" deflated the dramatic efforts of its leads.[8] Variety criticized the "really bad" drama, particularly the "vapid and cliched" screenplay. "This all-around misfire ... may go directly to home formats."[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Principal Photography Begins on 'Very Good Girls'" (Press release). Herrick Entertainment. July 20, 2012. Archived from the original on November 24, 2012. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Very Good Girls". Tribeca Film. Tribeca Film. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  3. ↑ "Very Good Girls - Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  4. 1 2 Fleming, Mike, Jr. (January 21, 2012). "Sundance: Dakota Fanning, Elizabeth Olsen, Anton Yelchin Lead Naomi Foner's 'Very Good Girls'". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  5. ↑ "In Photos: Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Olsen are 'Very Good Girls' in Brooklyn". On Location Vacations. July 6, 2012. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Tribeca". Tribeca. Tribeca Film. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  7. ↑ Rooney, David. "Very Good Girls: Sundance Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
  8. ↑ Feldberg, Isaac. "Very Good Girls Review". We Got This Covered.
  9. ↑ Alissa Simon (23 January 2013). "Review: 'Very Good Girls'". Variety.

External links

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