Gretchen (I) (2006)

Gretchen has bigger problems than abysmal fashion sense: She's 17, painfully awkward and stuck in the most unforgiving place on earth - high school. When her obsession with school bad boy ... See full summary »

Director:

Steve Collins

Writer:

Steve Collins

Stars:

Courtney Davis, John Merriman, Macon Blair

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Courtney Davis	...	Gretchen Finkle
John Merriman	...	Ricky Marichino
Macon Blair	...	Nick Rangoon
Becky Ann Baker	...	Lori Finkle
Stephen Root	...	Herb
Yasmine Kittles	...	Marla Auschussler
Gina Pollard	...	Candy
Carlos Trevino	...	Rich
John Wesley Coleman	...	Mark
Melba Martinez	...	Miss Rhoinos
Joseph Cheatham	...	Jeep
Carolyn Merriman	...	Shelly
Caroline Mithoff	...	Margot
Peyton Hayslip	...	Miss Jennings
Mikala Gibson	...	Marla's Trashy Friend

Storyline

Gretchen has bigger problems than abysmal fashion sense: She's 17, painfully awkward and stuck in the most unforgiving place on earth - high school. When her obsession with school bad boy Ricky gets out of hand, her mother sends her to an emotional treatment center to recover. She has to travel elsewhere, however, to truly begin to understand why she fixates on the wrong kind of guy.

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Plot Keywords:

one word title | character name in title | title spoken by character

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gretchen Finkle

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Science, Van Hoy/Knudsen Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The mysterious caller tells Gretchen to meet her at the racetrack at dawn. Yet in the very next scene when Gretchen arrives at the racetrack at presumably the appointed hour, it is clearly mid-day as indicated by the bright sunlight and shadows directly underneath Gretchen and her car.

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Soundtracks

"Heartquake"
Performed by Michael Crow, Jeff Johnston, Matt Kinsey, Mandon Maloney
Written by Matthew Kinsey, Michael Crow
Published by Chicken Bristle Tune Concern, Name In The Snow

User Reviews

Give it a shot, its worth it

A hilarious, tongue-in-cheek depiction of an awkward girl's bad-boy obsession.

I heard this referred to as "Napoleon Dynamite with a female lead." That is accurate to a point. While Gretchen does employ the subtle, dead-pan humor that is found in the utter niavety of the main character, this is where the similarities between Gretchen and Napoleon Dynamite end.

This movie uses that humor to explore and approach serious questions of suburban life in modern America and incorporates those common themes of isolation, danger seeking (by finding that exciting bad-boy) and that snowballing phenomenon of rejection that occurs in high school.

This film is slow paced, so it is not the best choice for a party, but perhaps if you have an hour and a half to appreciate this movie and its very reserved brand of dark humor, you should be pleasantly surprised!