Film Review: Nearing Grace

With a tagline like "What if the one thing you want is the last thing you need?" what can you expect but hormone-driven adolescent melodrama?

In Nearing Grace, the angst-ridden teen in question is Henry Nearing (Gregory Smith), whose attempt at deciphering the meaning of life includes canoodling with potential prom queen Grace (Jordana Brewster). In the process, Henry alienates his best female friend, drops out of school and moves into the household basement.

While contemplating the meaning of life, Henry realizes he loved his best friend all along-at which point the plot of every high school movie made in the last 50 years ensues.

Sure, there are a few alterations, such as the setting-a 1970s-era secondary school in which a diaphragm and a joint equal sexual bliss. And then there's the issue of his mother's recent death. However, these idiosyncracies add little to the standard Not Another Teen Movie plot.

Director Rick Rosenthal (Bad Boys, Halloween Resurrection) fails in his attempt to mimic the greatness of Garden State's quarter-life crisis portrayal. The pretentious dialogue, awkward not-quite-witticisms, and lack of an ultimate point prevent the film from reaching insightful indie flick status.

Despite the awkward beginning and unsatisfying end, Nearing Grace is not entirely without hope. When Henry and Grace are forced to streak home to the refrain of "Don't Fear the Reaper," their exhilaration is poignant enough to make the viewer forget the image of Will Ferrell frantically clanging a cowbell. And David Moscow is hilarious as older brother Blair, who lives in a tent in the yard and acid-trips his way through a baby pool in a pair of long johns.

Former child star Gregory Smith has grown up right into the tormented teen role that has been waiting for him since the day he appeared in Andre (the one with the seal in the Hawaiian shirt). Unfortunately, the pinnacle of his acting ability may lie in his suspiciously accurate job of pretending to be stoned.