The Graduates (I) (2008) User Reviews

"New American Pie?" These reviewers don't know what they're talking about.

[hollylynnellis · 10/10 · 7 March 2009]

This film is so much better than any of those crappy gross-out teen movies they throw at us every summer. When did the characters in American Pie actually learn something worthwhile and maybe even grow up a little?

Nick Vegara is the hottest unknown I've seen in a long time. Hats off to these guys for discovering him. I can't wait to see where he goes. Incredibly sweet performances are also given by Josh Davis and Rob Bradford as the two mismatched brothers.

The guys who made this movie are smart, funny and clearly CARE about telling not just a smart, funny story, but also one that MEANS something and GOES somewhere. Love it.

Too many forced messages and forced character development

[james00769 · 6/10 · 27 November 2009]

I feel like this movie didn't know exactly what it wanted to be. Also, it seemed to bend the truth a little too much in its trailer. Almost posing as a throw back to 80s sex comedies, but then ending up being another indie movie about finding yourself. I felt like it tried too hard to develop some characters that didn't need to be developed, and thus all of the characters ended up without real depth. I think if the movie just focused on the four main characters then it would've been much better.

Some forced moments were 1) When the hot girl goes to the bar with her alcoholic boyfriend and sees an ugly old drunk woman in the bar. As if she were looking into the future. This was hit over our head and not needed. Because the movie never sets up this character as someone to care about.

2) The divorce of the main characters parents. He finds out they are getting a divorce and it really messes him up....for one scene. Then it is completely forgotten about and never brought up again. I'm not really sure why it was brought up in the first place.

Those are the two that jumped off the screen for me, but there were others in the movie. Like the creepy friend of the older brother. What was the point of him? He came in and out of the movie and never added anything. or the guy that made Josh realize there is more to life than partying at beach week. Only to end up being miserable as well later in the film for a scene between him and another character that is mostly irrelevant. How come those two get a moment together? Is the message that you are going to be miserable no matter what you decide to do with your life?

Having said that (Curb Your Enthusiasm joke anyone?), this movie was enjoyable to watch. Mainly because I loved some of the performances. Josh Adam Davis as the older brother was perfect. He added a little Will Ferrell to the character that really made it memorable. (Watch him explain the "brushing back the hair" phenomenon with Will Ferrell in mind and you'll know what I am talking about.) Blake Merriman was hilarious in the movie. His acting was so understated which made his character more believable. I'd love to see Nick Vergara in something else to find out if he was actually acting or just playing himself in this movie. I really enjoyed him in the scene where he teaches Nickie a lesson about acting stupid and starting fights. I would also like to see Rob Bradford in another role as his performance was at times really grounded and believable and other times forced. Which leads me to believe that the director may have been forcing his vision on Bradford instead of letting the actor create a believable character throughout the film.

Realistic, light-hearted fun

[rainbowmorningglory · 10/10 · 6 March 2009]

Though independent and "low budget", what others have deemed "staged" and "faked" (perfect "in frame" shots), seems to be a disguised complement on the quality of camera work for an "amateur" production!

The characters are realistic representations of people we all knew (maybe even were) throughout high school.

The cast seemed well selected (from looks/costuming/etc) for their "parts". The main characters, are not the "beautiful", "popular", "jocks"..... they are the other ones, the ones that weren't "popular" per se', but weren't outcasts.

Remember that beautiful girl that everybody wanted? How about the "nice girl" who fell in love with her best friend? Or (my favorite) the "dead beat" older brother who still is scarred from his first time having sex.

Yes, there are a few clichés but really.....they're clichés for a reason. BECAUSE THEY'RE REAL!!!!

All the characters I could put names to my former schoolmates.

This was all-in-all a fun, nostalgic romp through what was an otherwise traumatizing time.

A Close Call

[NoDakTatum · 6/10 · 3 November 2023]

On the surface, "The Graduates" looks like all those other coming-of-age high school flicks, complete with virginal dudes and binge drinking in a resort town. However, the writer/director here shoots for something more, and frustratingly comes up a little short. A carload of recently graduated Baltimore high schoolers are headed to Ocean City, Maryland to drink and get laid. We have normal every guy Ben (Rob Bradford), who is in lust with Annie (Stephanie Lynn), but is secretly loved by best friend Megs (Laurel Reese). Ben's older brother Josh (Josh Davis) is in his twenties but still heads down to graduates' week (think Matthew McConaughey in "Dazed and Confused"). Freaky Nickie (Mike Pennacchio) is a rich kid on meds who tries too hard to fit in as a regular dude. Nerdy Andy (Blake Merriman) is in a committed chaste relationship with his girlfriend, who wants something more, and Mattie (Nick Vergara) plays a father figure role in the group. While the normal boring parties begin (nice to see some things haven't changed since I was a senior in high school- like a keg and more than three people constitute a "party"- the guys are thrown for a loop. Their tentative plans begin to unravel, as they must grow up now that they are out of high school. They are still dealing with high school level dramatics and situations (iffy sex, long-term relationships that are anything but, and plans after summer ends), but this one shortened weekend changes everybody.

Ryan Gielen throws the viewer into the mix, and demands we start caring about these characters before we get to know them. Most of them have too many stock traits, and many of the situations have been done to death- I kept rolling my eyes as Ben kept ignoring the perfect Megs to try and get with a very cranky Annie. I hated that I had seen this all before, even during the more darkly comic moments. Although, I am still slightly recommending the film. Why? I haven't been in high school in decades, but when I was there, I knew every single one of these people. The cast is unbelievably good, not pounding out a bunch of insult punchlines and showing everyone what's in their underwear. Gielen takes some familiar situations and turns them on their ear, making them uncomfortable to watch like Mattie teaching a just-jailed Nickie a lesson or Josh running into an old friend from school, and still making them compelling. The soundtrack is really good by indy bands I haven't heard of. Two stand-outs among the supporting cast are spectacularly funny: Megs' friend Rachel (Rachel Kiri Walker) and party host Stuart (Max Lodge) had me laughing the hardest. And if Judd Nelson ever needed someone to play a younger version of himself, give Nick Vergara a call. His Mattie character doesn't really stand out much, but Vergara gives him an intensity and edge that almost makes up for the weakly drawn character. This isn't a laugh-a-minute teen comedy, and it doesn't spoof those films, either. "The Graduates" meanders along, detrimentally takes its own sweet time, yet is still worthwhile.

Loved it. Loved it. Loved it.

[cbarris3-16 · 10/10 · 6 March 2009]

I'm 39, happily married, three kids, all between 5-10 years old. I watched the sneak preview on a Saturday night sitting in my pj's and laughed out loud probably twenty times. To the point my wife actually watched a little. She watched up to the point where Nickie said he wanted to dunk the girl's head in the toilet, she left at that point.

I think you have to step back and watch the whole thing without thinking about Superbad or the other high school comedy movies that come out because this is a different thing, this is an old school film not a new school movie. Something really special here, and I know because I keep saying "alright, I gotta go inside and get ****ed up real quick, then I'll drive you wherever you want..." It's a smart-alec comedy, which I like.

Very funny and heartfelt; loved it!

[kathleen56 · 10/10 · 9 March 2009]

This movie is not just a run of the mill coming of age comedy, but one with heart, insight, and new adventures. I thoroughly enjoyed it. the scenes were authentic and i'm still quoting several memorable lines. As a newbie to the world of indie films, i was really impressed to see how much could be accomplished with very limited resources. It makes me want to see more from this group of very dedicated and talented film makers and actors. i definitely recommend seeing this film. Whether you are waiting to experience senior week for yourself or reliving the one(s) that you remember, this movie will leave you smiling and waiting anxiously for summer 2009!

Solid pic - why the low rating?

[elblaqo2 · 10/10 · 9 March 2009]

So, I saw this movie the other week because a friend told me it was online for free as some kind of a promo. I wasn't expecting much - it looked like another standard teen sex romp movie on the outside - but I found that there was a lot more to "The Graduates" than other movies in its genre.

Let's face it, a lot of comedies made today suck. I mean: "Scream 4"!? "Disaster Movie"? Come on! What happened to the smart, clever movies that people like Steve Martin USED to make, like "The Jerk?" Now all you have to do is say or do something outlandish or weird in order to get a movie made (cough - Will Ferrell).

Judd Apatow's crew are on the right track. They've put the emphasis back on character and relationships, but the people that did "The Graduates" seem to be pushing for more - something with quality acting and grounded relationships - things that people can relate to and connect to and FEEL for. I don't remember the last time I saw a teen sex comedy or coming of age comedy where I really gave a hoot whether the characters/actors lived or died - and that's just what happened for me with "The Graduates." I liked "The Graduates." I really did. I liked it even MORE when I found out that it was made for under $100,000.00. Now that's impressive. Think of how much money is wasted on such terrible movies, then see this movie - wow.

I saw all these bizarre reviews/comments on their page which really didn't make sense - a rating of 4.4? Weird, vague comments by other users who didn't seem to be talking about the same movie I saw and openly admitting that they only watched 30 mins of a 90 min film? I hope that this blemish doesn't hurt the success of this otherwise well-received film.

The plot is pretty typical, but it's what they DO with it that matters. The cinematography and direction is pretty straight forward, which makes sense for a film like this on this scale - you can only do so much with a small budget and you only SHOULD do so much with a character-driven piece. The acting? From these unknowns? Really kind of impressive - I saw that Nick Vergara, who plays Mattie in the film, got commended by my favorite website: FilmschoolRejects.com. I agree with their review. There really are no weak links in this film in terms of the talent.

I found more info at www.TheGraduatesMovie.com about the film and got a free soundtrack and I will see it again when/if it plays near me.

Better than you would expect

[rejabeh · 8/10 · 11 March 2009]

I'm not sure if those giving this movie such harsh reviews really paid attention to what (I thought) the movie was aiming for, or kept in mind that it's a low-budget, grassroots indie. It seems to me like it's trying to appeal equally to teens and adults: teens because it depicts something pretty true to their current experience and adults because it definitely tells the story through the perspective of an adult. By that I mean it's a little satirical and more realistic than a lot of teen comedies aimed just at teens.

I also didn't get the impression it was trying overtly to be a comedy. It was too realistic for that--yes, some scenes were funny or were meant to be funny, but only in the context that there is a lot of humor in the life of a 18-year-old (whether or not the kid's aware of it). It wasn't just going for cheap laughs.

Is this a perfect movie? No. Some areas could be improved: the trailer (doesn't create a lot of interest and gives away too much), one-dimensional female characters, some holes in the storytelling, for example. Is it clearly an indie? Oh, yes. But it does show a lot of promise on the part of the cast (especially the actors playing Josh, Mattie, Andy, and Megs) and the director. It's smarter and more thoughtful and mature than most teen movies (and thank god there's not some kind of freaking moral at the end or any form of makeover/lifechanging montage sequence). Knowing now that the budget was so small--I'm quite impressed. I'd like to see what they'd all do with a more developed screenplay and a larger budget. And the use of music was excellent; it really added to the storytelling.

Now I'm climbing on a soapbox, but for this genre I'd rather watch an imperfect but entertaining movie that's realistic and a little more grassroots than something overproduced, unrealistic, clichéd, and bloated.

Hey i know you!....

[usacheer1493 · 10/10 · 27 March 2009]

i might be a little biased living in ocean city and basically knowing everyone in that movie but it was great! it had good composure,all the elements, i would so see it again, loved it! It was cool seeing people in a movie and being able to see them at a party the next day! but it's not even that the actual movie was great me and my friends watched it and we all loved it! the entire movie we would just name exactly were and would be like oh hey we were there the other day etc. it was a good movie and really fun to watch as an local. i loved it! all the actors we're very good as well! this movie is definitely not what i would have expected of a low-budget film made in ocean city Maryland! it greatly exceeded my expectations though!

A Masterpiece

[bhoeg001 · 10/10 · 6 September 2009]

The Graduates shows a bright future in the magnificent talent of writer/director Ryan Gielen. A brilliant, well written coming of age film takes you on a roller-coaster of emotions, that comes to a halt with a great message that will certainly make you think! Nick Vergaga offers a standout performance as the best bud, Mattie, but I'm not saying that the entire cast didn't offer a spectacular performance. That would be farthest from the truth. On many occasions, this reminded me a little bit about my own journey, enlightening me through their deep conversations, or experiences. You will not be disappointed with this movie! It's a must-see!!!!