The Art of Getting By (2011)

George, a lonely and fatalistic teen who's made it all the way to his senior year without ever having done a real day of work, is befriended by Sally, a popular but complicated girl who recognizes in him a kindred spirit.

Director:

Gavin Wiesen

Writer:

Gavin Wiesen

Stars:

Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts, Sasha Spielberg

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Freddie Highmore	...	George Zinavoy
Emma Roberts	...	Sally Howe
Sasha Spielberg	...	Zoe Rubenstein
Marcus Carl Franklin	...	Will Sharpe
Ann Dowd	...	Mrs. Grimes
Maya Ri Sanchez	...	Cynthia
Blair Underwood	...	Principal Martinson
Ann Harada	...	Mrs. Dougherty
Rita Wilson	...	Vivian Sargent
Jarlath Conroy	...	Harris McElroy
Elizabeth Reaser	...	Charlotte Howe
Andrew Levitas	...	Javier
Sam Robards	...	Jack Sargent
Alicia Silverstone	...	Ms. Herman
Michael Angarano	...	Dustin

Storyline

Believing the quote that you are born alone, die alone and everything else is an illusion, George doesn't see the point of life, school, or homework. Then he meets Sally and he now has a reason to go to school and make friends, even if he's not ready to admit to himself or to her that he likes her. The school's principal and art teacher introduce him to an alumni, and successful artist, Dustin, who can help guide George along life's path, but other distractions start surfacing, and George might not even be able to graduate from high school.

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Plot Keywords:

principal | artist | homework | high school | art teacher | 

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Taglines:

Everybody's got some.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements including sexual content, language, teen drinking and partying

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 July 2011 (Israel)

Also Known As:

Homework

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$679,160 (USA) (17 June 2011)

Gross:

$1,429,260 (USA) (8 July 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Goldcrest Pictures, Gigi Productions, Mint Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the first scene, the camera passes by Tom's Restaurant, the same restaurant featured in Seinfeld, aka Monk's.

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Quotes

Sally Howe: Are you okay?
George Zinavoy: I'm allergic to hormones.
Sally Howe: What hormones?
George Zinavoy: My own.

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Connections

Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.22 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"We Will Become Silhouettes"
Written by Benjamin Gibbard and James Tamborello
Performed by The Shins
Courtesy of Sub Pop Records

User Reviews

Good/But

This is one of those movies that starts out well but seems to disappoint in the end.

It's beautifully shot and edited, and we see many fine performances. I found Emma Roberts particularly appealing, as she has a dour, come-hither look in her dark eyes about 95% of the time. What Ingrid Bergman could achieve by looking down, Roberts does by looking almost right at us.

Freddie Highmore looks and feels authentic. His character has a lot of choices to make, many of which go against all common sense. But although he drives us crazy, he's intriguing and we want to know what's to happen to him.

Mid-movie, the characters are hit with several crises, and it gets interesting as we wonder how they'll resolve them. When resolution strikes, though, it's so conventional that it's disappointing. The expected is unexpected.

Yup, it has indie-feel and Sundance all over it. But I was hoping for a big surprise at the end from these flawed but good people; instead, they seemed to abandon what they had stood for. And what may have qualified as a surprise involving Roberts was simply unbelievable and too convenient to accept. Though I was happy for them, a simple, happy ending didn't feel right with these non-simple characters.

But then, maybe, that was the point.