Sadly Over-hyped

Overrated and overhyped

A Masterpiece!

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

A Down on his luck good guy who sleeps in his car is intrigued by a mysterious girl who rents porn movies from the video rental store he works in. He slithers into her life and ends up living with her despite her general cold and unfriendly manner towards him. Slowly he breaks down her emotional walls through much persistence and she eventually confronts her problems. A subtle and well-acted film and certainly not a comedy as the title may suggest. It's not so dark it's difficult to watch but treats the subject matter (possible sexual abuse, although it's not explicitly revealed) with respect. I'm not sure if i'd watch it again but I enjoyed it.

Good Dick is an off-beat romantic dramedy about a strange relationship developing between a video store clerk and a reclusive girl who comes by every day to rent softcore porn movies. It's probably a case of intentional irony that the title of the film makes it so you'd be embarrassed to rent it from a video store. It's a nice cynical touch that fits the movie, but I think it does it more harm then good, because it may turn many potential viewers away from what is actually a pretty good movie.It's far from perfect, and suffers from some of the same amateurish flaws shared by many independent films - most notably, the awful overbearing music that disrupts far too many scenes, and some poor editing every now and then, but putting those aside it's an effective, touching movie, and very much not the sex comedy you might expect (though there are some very funny moments). Marianna Palka and Jason Ritter (John's son) deliver very realistic characters with a very awkward and naturalistic delivery. The supporting cast supplies a more solid ground to keep the whole thing from being too messy - most notably veteran actor Charles Durning in a very brief but very beautiful scene, and most surprisingly Tom Arnold (yes, that's right) in a very powerful performance - he was actually so good I hardly recognized him. Overall, an excellent little indie picture that's highly recommended, as long as you don't expect comedy and you don't expect sex or nudity (hint: there aren't any).

Or is this a redemption movie? "Omnia vincit amor" (Vergil) - True love can overcome anything. It's a tour de force for Marianna Palka, as writer, director and main actor. If it helps her develop a successful career in movie-making (which I hope it does), she may still look back on this as some of her best work.Looks a bit like a clinical report on the agonising problem of familial sexual abuse, taken to extremes in a particular direction - but she does (eventually) make the psychology and personality of the female character convincing, and even compelling. Unfortunately not so much so for the male character. In pursuit of his one true soul-mate, how much trouble will a human male go to? - not much, so the biologists tell us.If you want to do battle with other people's psychiatric problems, son, enrol at med school. Otherwise, at very least, you're likely to do more harm than good. However the actor Jason Ritter does battle manfully with the challenges of the script.There are some nice touches. The lightning transformation of "Dad" from patronising to nasty is worth watching. And how the Ritter character manages to get habitual access to a supposedly secure apartment building is educational. As viewer, you need to keep your wits about you: at one point, the female lead runs into the aunt (from another apartment in the building) who has died (so she's been told) - but the old dear is walking around in perfect health.So why does a not very busy video store need a "staff" of four behind the counter? For students of Greek drama, these other three guys count as the "chorus", commenting wisely on the action. And one customer volunteers a homily on happiness - a bit clumsy? To enjoy this movie, you need to accept the conventions. Not every step in the logic will be adequately explained, or even perhaps explainable. Ever since "Pride and Prejudice", the essence of chicklit has been that supposedly insuperable barriers will block the path to true love and happiness. A situation that "ought to end badly"? - sure it is. But are we suckers for redemption? Bet on it.

I came across this film by accident. A very fortunate accident for me. The characters and the plot were very believable. I am a retired police officer having worked in the NYPD and in Colorado. I have met people like her and have spent a lot of time dealing with their issues. I was glued to my TV and when the film ended as I had watched one of the best films ever. The main plot was very well developed along with two or three sub-plots involving other characters. Culver City is filled with a lot of pseudo-intellectuals who all believe that they are somehow film experts and filled with all sorts of wisdom about life in general. This adds to the great direction as the viewer is watching life in that community as the main characters are developed.