GLORY DAYS // A FILM REVIEW OF "I USED TO GO HERE"

BY MATEO MORENO

Everyone has the dream of going back to their home town or their alma mater as a success story. To show that you "made it," whatever that may mean to you. But often, we get to return to our old stomping grounds with a few broken stories and a life that is still "in flux." In I USED TO GO HERE, Kate (Gillian Jacobs, most famously from Community) was a star in college and she moved away to become a successful writer. Now her first novel is being published, but before any reviews have even come out, she finds her publisher has cancelled her entire book tour, leaving the success of the book in question. With the wind knocked out of her, she gets an invite from David Kirkpatrick (Jemaine Clement), her old college professor, to come speak to his class. Needing some instant validation after being knocked down, she immediately accepts.

David tells her that he loved her book, though his wife didn't care for it (His wife is sitting right next to him when he says it. That's the kind of person David is). David is thrilled for his class to meet her, and she's excited to see him after so many years. She ends up staying at a Bed & Breakfast across the street from where she lived so many years ago and bonds with the students that are currently living there, especially with Hugo (Josh Wiggins) who's equally drawn to her. However, this isn't the typical "back to college" party set up (even if a character is named "Animal"). It's much more nuanced and sweet. Kate wants to be the belle of the ball, but she's not even sure if her book is any good (she definitely hates the cover), or if anyone has actually read it. She wanders freely into her old haunts, lapping up the life of these students still on the verge of their future.

Writer/Director Kris Rey mixes bittersweet drama with screwball hijinks very well, and has cast a wonderful ensemble of actors. Flight of the Conchords own Jemaine Clement is perfectly cast as a popular, and horny, professor and the school group Kate attaches herself to (including Josh Wiggins, Forrest Goodluck, Khloe Janel and Brandon Daley) are all warm, funny and each showcase their own stand out scenes. Adding a little zanniness to the proceedings is Rammel Chan, a super-fan of Kate's who happily drives her anywhere she wants to go, no matter what the time of day (or night) it is. He's silly and charming, never cartoonish, and adds a loving support to Jacobs throughout. And as our protagonist Kate, Gillian Jacobs is charming and sweet, turning in an emotionally satisfying performance that glues everything together. There's so much charm and love sitting inside of I USED TO GO HERE that when it ends, you'll feel a little better than you did before you started it. Sweet and tender, Rey's comedic drama is the comic highlight of the summer.

GRADE: B+

WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Kris Rey STARRING Gillian Jacobs, Jemaine Clement, Rammel Chan, Josh Wiggins, Forrest Goodluck, Khloe Janel, Zoe Chao, Brandon Daley, Hannah Marks, Jorma Taccone, Kate Micucci, Cindy Gold, Jennifer Joan Taylor. Now Showing in Select Theatres and On-Demand in Virtual Cinemas.

"THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST" // TRIBECA 2018 REVIEW

BY MATEO MORENO

Conversion Therapy is an awful and troubling thing. If you’re not aware of what it is, I’ll enlighten you. According to Wikipedia, Conversion Therapy “is the pseudoscientific practice of trying to change an individual's sexual orientation from homosexual or bisexual to heterosexual using psychological or spiritual interventions.” In other words, it’s therapy to help you stop being gay and become straight, like it was apparently intended. The heartbreaking and devastating repercussions of this kind of thinking is mind boggling. The majority of clinics that do such a thing do it under the guise of a fundamentalist Christian group, who justify their view on homosexuality with religion, cherry picked for their own beliefs. THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST dives into that world and follows a group who are put into a conversation center themselves, with their parents believe their homosexual urges can be cured.

Cameron Post (Chloë Grace Moretz) is caught having sex with a female friend of hers on the night of her Prom. Her legal guardian, who’s evangelical herself, immediately sends her off to be “reformed,” sending her to “God’s Promise.” The center is run by a brother and a sister, Dr. Lydia Marsh (Jennifer Ehle) and Reverend Rick (John Gallagher Jr). Rick himself claims to be successfully treated and only wishes the young students can experience life the way he did. But underneath the good will that is on the surface lies uncomfortable blindness to what they are actually doing. The film is clearly on the side of the teens, but intriguingly, it also humanizes Rick, showing his pain and confusion, especially after Cameron enters the fray. He seems lost, just like all of us, and unaware of the horror he’s spreading.

His sister is a much tougher character to swallow. She reminds me of a stern Catholic school teacher in the kind who would shave off someone’s hair because they didn’t approve of long hair (which Lydia does to a poor student of hers). She’s intent on putting her ideology into the minds of the students, unaware of the self-hatred that she’s actually installing. All of their methods have the opposite effect, but they are too shamed themselves to see what they are actually doing. With Cameron, she finally finds a community there who understand her, other outcasts who have been sent for the same reasons she has and all want to be anywhere else but there. Even as they are being taught to hate the feelings inside of her, the strength the group give each other makes it possible for them to find new layers within themselves, and helps them truly find who they are, not who the center wants them to be. It’s a film that’s full of heartbreak and pain, but also a real sense of compassion and love, not to mention a good amount of humor. It’s complex and warm, and it’s one of the strongest films I’ve seen during the festival.

VERDICT: MUST SEE

WRITTEN BY Desiree Akhavan, Cecilia Frugiuele DIRECTED BY Desiree Akhavan STARRING Chloe Grace Moretz, Sasha Lane, Forrest Goodluck, John Gallagher Jr., Jennifer Ehle. Playing as part of the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.

https://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/miseducation-of-cameron-post-2018