Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.0

The Art of Getting By Blu-ray Movie Review

The art of the formulaic coming-of-age movie.

Reviewed by Casey Broadwater December 22, 2011

As I was watching The Art of Getting By, I was drinking a strong drip coffee and snacking on dark chocolate-covered espresso beans. Neither did any good. Midway through I wanted to nod off, not because I was tired beforehand, but because the film itself is a particularly strong sedative, as bland as white bread and just as substanceless. Rated R and submitted under the title Homework, the movie debuted to a negative response at Sundance this year, and it’s no better now, masked with a new name and a rejiggered PG-13 rating.

The problem’s not just that the film is boring, it’s also aggressively obnoxious, trying way too hard to make its main character into a substitute Holden Caulfield. Yes, most modern male coming-of-age stories draw at least loosely on The Catcher in the Rye, but this one is shameless. It’s what Holden himself would’ve called goddamn phony. Do we really need another film about the First World problems of New York’s privileged and disaffected youth? I’m going to go with “no.”

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s Freddie Highmore drops his native English intonation for a decent American accent as George, a high school senior and junior nihilist who carries a copy of Camus’ The Stranger to read alone in the cafeteria. Other students refer to him as “the sensitive artiste,” and he uses his off-campus privileges to furtively smoke cigarettes in the park. Additional telltale signs of alienation include his perfectly unkempt bangs, his worsted wool trench coat—which he wears even indoors—and the absent-minded way he doodles during class. “We live alone, we die alone…everything else is just an illusion,” he even quotes at the beginning of the film. Caught in such a miry existential malaise, George routinely uses his why bother philosophy as an excuse for not completing his trigonometry assignments. Well, well, well, and a big boo hoo. I was a poetry-reading drama nerd in high school, and even I want to stuff this kid in a locker.

Naturally, George is on a first-name basis with the school’s firm-but-fair principal (Blair Underwood), who puts him on academic probation and tells him to shape up or ship out. But George can’t be bothered. “There are so many more important things to think about; homework seems like an afterthought,” he tells fellow class-skipping cig-smoker Sally (Emma Roberts), a popular blond who takes an extremely unlikely interest in him. He has hormonal urges toward her too, but he’s paralyzed by indecision. (Ah, the ennui!) Both of them come from semi-troubled homes. George’s step- dad has, for several months, been hiding the fact that he lost his job—Oh look! Recession relevancy!—and Sally’s mom (Elizabeth Reaser) is a drunk- by-breakfast lush who flirts with anyone with a pair of testes, including our sex-shy protagonist. When she paws at George and says, “You know, ticklish people make great lovers. Everything is erotic,” you might squirm in your seat along with him.

This isn’t the only scene that will make you writhe. In one of the most cloying movie dates of all time—yes, I’m calling it—George and Sally skip school to eat Chinese take-out and go see a Louis Malle film at a run-down arthouse while a Mates of State cover of a Belle & Sebastian song plays in the background. It couldn’t possibly be more noxiously twee, and this is coming from a guy who loves “Turn the Clock Around” and wants to name his firstborn daughter after the titular troublemaker in Zazie dans le metro. I just didn’t know they could be so artlessly combined.

George and Sally hit it off, but its not all roses for the two cause-less rebels, especially not after the introduction of Dustin (Michael Angarano), a slightly older artist who becomes George’s mentor and the third angle of an awkward love triangle. The thing is, the conflict here doesn’t have any bite. Sure, Dustin swoops in when George fails to make a move on Sally, but the betrayal has all the emotional intensity of a Sunday afternoon nap. We actually like Dustin much more than we sympathize with George. Sure, he comes across as a Brooklyn bohemian poseur, but he at least goes after what he wants, whereas George lacks the nerve to do anything. This, of course, is the entire point of the film—it’s about a loner who finally learns that life is right there for the taking and that, hey, anything is possible—but George is such a brooding do-nothing for so much of the movie that it’s hard to identify with him at all. Freddie Highmore isn’t particularly convincing in the role either; he’s a bit too polished for a character that could desperately use a ragged streak.

You get the not-so-sneaking suspicion that The Art of Getting By is drawn largely from first-time writer/director Gavin Wiesen’s own inflated memories of being troubled, talented, and too-cool-for-school. This self-indulgence is rather annoying, especially since the coming-of-age genre is already so glutted with misty-eyed remembrances of things past. It might be forgivable if the film had something—anything—new to offer, but it doesn’t. We’re left with the usual story about a mopey kid who has to overcome his soul-crushing cynicism in order to head down the bright path of self-actualization—with help, of course, from a girl who is less a three-dimensional person than a flat projection of the boy-man’s fantasies.

The Art of Getting By Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

20th Century Fox has brought The Art of Getting By to Blu-ray with a 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer that delivers exactly what you expect from a fairly low-budget independent drama—an image that's not quite as slick and polished as its top-tier brethren, but still clean and colorful. Unlike a lot of indie movies these days, Getting By was actually shot on 35mm, which gives the picture a warm, naturally filmic quality. The grain structure is thin and unobtrusive, and hasn't been touched by digital noise reduction or edge enhancement. The level of clarity is acceptable, with fine high definition detail visible in the actors' faces and clothing, but there are many longer shots that simply look out of focus. Color is satisfying, with a slightly warm cast, healthy skin tones, and a palette of rich neutral colors. Black levels are adequately deep and contrast is punchy without looking overpushed. Grain and noise spike a bit during darker scenes, but never drastically, and there are no other compression or encode issues. This is an all-around okay-looking disc, far from impressive, but far more impressive than the film itself.

The Art of Getting By Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Art of Getting By features Fox's standard-issue lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, and the mix is typical for this kind of set- in-the-big-city drama/comedy. For most scenes, dialogue is the focus—it's always presented cleanly and clearly from the front channels—with a light backdrop of quiet environmental ambience in the rear speakers, from traffic noise and party chatter to the usual clamor of high school classrooms. The surrounds also help fill out Alec Puro's score and the various soundtrack songs—like that precious cover of "Turn the Clock Around"—and the music has plenty of depth and presence. The only time the track really gets to bump is when the kids somehow gain entrance to a 21+ nightclub and dance the night away to a thumping kick drum. The disc also includes a Dolby Digital 5.1 descriptive audio track, along with optional English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles.

The Art of Getting By Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Art of Getting By arrives on Blu-ray with your usual assortment of superficial bonus features, including short production featurettes, interviews with the stars, and an audio commentary with the director, none which will change your opinion of the film.

• Audio Commentary with Director Gavin Wiesen
• New York Slice of Life (1080p, 2:34)
• On Young Love (1080p, 2:48)
• Fox Movie Channel Presents - In Character with Freddie Highmore (SD, 4:03)
• HBO First Look - The Making of The Art of Getting By (1080p, 12:31)
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:15)

The Art of Getting By Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Somewhere, the ghost of J.D. Salinger is palming his face and shaking his head, observing all the two-bit ripoffs of The Catcher in the Rye, like The Art of Getting By, which even goes so far as to have a title that rhymes and shares the same syllable count. (Granted, I have no idea if this is intentional or not.) As far as coming-of-age dramas go, this one falls onto the "insufferable" side of the spectrum. I can only see The Art of Getting By appealing to brooding pre-teens who have yet to discover Holden Caulfield. All others are advised to stay away.