According to Greta (2009)

A suicidal and rebellious teenager is sent to live with her grandparents for the summer, where life takes an unexpected turn.

Director:

Nancy Bardawil

Writer:

Michael Gilvary

Stars:

Hilary Duff, Evan Ross, Michael Murphy

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hilary Duff	...	Greta
Evan Ross	...	Julie
Michael Murphy	...	Joseph
Ellen Burstyn	...	Katherine
Melissa Leo	...	Karen
Maury Ginsberg	...	Lou
John Rothman	...	Edgar
Sylvia Kauders	...	Mrs. Wocheski
Oren Skoog	...	Steve
Dave Shalansky	...	Cable Guy
Vivan Dugré	...	Donna
Gary Mottola	...	Red Tie Bar Guy
Stuart Zagnit	...	Man on Bus
Edward Lane	...	Old Man (as Ed Lane)
Eric Sheffer Stevens	...	Yellow Sweater Guy

Storyline

After her mother, Karen (Melissa Leo) gets married for the third time, 17-year-old Greta (Hillary Duff), who had witnessed her father kill himself, withdraws within herself, and turns rebellious. In lieu of boot camp she is sent to live with her maternal grandparents, Katherine (Ellen Burstyn) and Joseph (Michael Murphy) where she makes it known that she is determined to kill herself. She then falls for a cook, Julie (Evan Ross) at the local restaurant, much to the chagrin of her grandparents - especially when they find out he had been interned in a juvenile correctional facility. Faced with all-round opposition and unhappy with her life Greta plans her suicide during a boating trip - a plan that will not only expose closeted skeletons, but also shatter and change everyone's lives forever.

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Plot Keywords:

ex convict | abstinence | actress | actresses | princess | 

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Taglines:

She's a trip. But she's no vacation.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, some sexual content and drug references

Details

Official Sites:

MySpace Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 December 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

According to Greta

Filming Locations:

Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anchor Bay Films,West of Midnight,Whitewater Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Was released in the UK under the title "Surviving Summer".

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Quotes

Katherine: Course, you could've told us it was your day off.
Greta: Well you could've let me know it was your day to get off.

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Soundtracks

Toss It Up
Written By David Hilker, John Costello,
Marcus Scott, Ricardo Gonzales
Performed by
Goldie Feat. Young Phoenix
Courtesy of Fervor Records,
a division of Wild Whirled Music

User Reviews

Like no other (No Spoilers)

I will not go into the plot of the movie too much as I believe you can look elsewhere for that information.

I will start by telling you that if you are expecting the typical Hilary Duff flick, you will be either very disappointed or pleasantly surprised. This is her most serious role to date and excludes the fluffy elements and leaves you with a Character who most viewers can empathise with as a lot of us have at one point in our lives held an extremely cynical and fearful view on life and growing older, even if we haven't come from dysfunctional families and experienced such difficulties as the character 'Greta'.

Hilary Duff narrates the movie in a way, through talking to the viewer and writing in her diary. I have always favoured films that are narrated by a character as you become more involved with the story and without Greta telling us what she is thinking and how she feels we could not empathise with her half as much.

The soundtrack is amazing and captures every moment perfectly. My advice is to watch this film at night when you're feeling mellow and reflective, it will in no doubt drift you off into a bittersweet melancholy. It is artistic, gripping and is free of dull time-filling moments that have no relevance to the story or characters that are being portrayed.

I have not been able to stop thinking about the characters, the quotes, the music, the meaning behind everything Greta is saying. A truly amazing piece of work. 9 out of 10, for its genre in my opinion, this comes close to perfection.