Greetings from the Shore (2007)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Greg Chwerchak

Writers:

Gabrielle Berberich (writer)
Greg Chwerchak (writer)

Release Date:

12 September 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Still reeling from the death of her father, a young girl spends one last summer at the Jersey Shore before heading off to college...

Awards:

23 wins

Cast

Kim Shaw	...	Jenny Chambers
Paul Sorvino	...	Catch Turner
David Fumero	...	Benicio Aceveda
Jay O. Sanders	...	Commodore Callaghan
Andrew Shaifer	...	Flip Dooley
Lars Arentz-Hansen	...	Lars Ramkildestrom
Gideon Emery	...	Sasha Mientkiewicz
Ron Geren	...	Christos Zazavich
Alexander Cendese	...	Owen Callaghan
Angela Pietropinto	...	Mrs. Salducci
Chuck Ardezzone	...	Foreman
Cordelia Reynolds	...	Heather
Jason Etter	...	Tyler
Cristin Milioti	...	Didi
Shevy Katan	...	Allison

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

USA:116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Lavallette, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Greetings From The Shore

Trivia:

The location of the party during which Owen is attacked by Benicio, is a house on West Point Island in Lavallette, NJ. West Point Island is also home to a residence owned by none other than famed Jersey-born actor Joe Pesci.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The morning scene on the bay featuring people fishing on the pier after Jenny's date with "Patrick" was actually an evening shot of the sunset, not the morning. One can tell by the coloring of the sky over the bay, which is in the west. Were it morning, the sun would be rising behind the camera, thus having a dark sky over the bay.

Great Lead Actress & Strong Moments throughout – Overall, the story is just okay

The lead actress (Kim Shaw) in this movie is fantastic. She is a sweet character who has vulnerability and strength. The setting of this film on the Jersey shore at resort/restaurant gives a feel to it like "Dirty Dancing." The cast is rounded out with other memorable characters – Paul Sorvino for example, as well as the manager at the restaurant (good comic relief!)

There are really nice moments throughout this film and the build-up of the movie's romance is good. Mid-way through the film though, it starts to lag. It feels like the stakes could be higher – either on the romance-end or in the conflict that is felt between the workers and the rich "frat boys" or in the main character's grief over the loss of her father (which gets lost in the story). It's lacking that "compelling something" to pull me into the next scene and next. I needed something more to make me feel like I NEED to know what is coming next.

It is worth noting that the movie finishes on a strong note with a "showdown" of sorts.

The locations, directing, acting, and cinematography are all strong. The story could have been stronger. Cutting out some of the middle scenes and/or trimming them down would speed up the pacing and improve this movie in my opinion.

I feel like this movie is a 6, or maybe a 7 out of 10. Since it is an indie film, I rounded up to a 7 (since it is hard to make a good movie with less money). If you like romances that aren't formulaic romantic-comedies, this is a nice coming-of-age one.