Flower (2017) Reviews

• Mess

  Eaksoy-958-3530122018-03-16

  My advice is go to this movie for the first 30 minutes to see the stellar performances and then immediately leave and don't look back and whatever you do don't stay for the last 20 minutes. This movie is a horribly written film school mess with a clear dissonance between all creative components. Great acting, a seemingly decent director who /tried/ their best but with a script that feels like it structured through mad libs not even they could save it.

• Zoey Deutch's acting talents surpass the movie by a mile or two

  paul-allaer2018-03-31

  "Flower" (2017 release; 93 min.) brings the story of Erica and her family and friends. As the movie opens, Erica and two friends expose and blackmail a cop who accepted a blowjob from Erica, a 17 yr. old minor. We then get to know Erica's mom, with whom Erica is close, and her mom's boyfriend Bob, whose 18 yr. old son Luke is being released from rehab and moves in as well. Luke claims that years ago he was molested by his teacher Will, and when they run into Will at the bowling alley, they decide that justice needs to be served. Did Will molest Luke? What becomes of Erica and Luke? At this point we're 15 min, into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to eee for yourself how it all plays out. Couple of comments: this is the feature length debut of co-writer and director Max Winker, best known for his TV work. Here he brings the tale of a rebellious and well-meaning 17 yr. old girl who manages to get herself into trouble time and again. The movie benefits tremendously from Joey Deutch's acting talents, but alas the movie suffers visibly from a lack of focus. I mean, this is really three movies in one, as the focus shift and one movie becomes another one, before it becomes yet another movie again. By the end, the story has become utterly improbable and, frankly, preposterous. And that's a shame, as there are some good elements in the movie. But it is clear that Zoey Deutch's acting talents surpass the movie by a mile or two, There are some great songs in the movie, including a very nice cover of "Daydream" (the 1969 hit single of the Belgian band the Wallace Collection) by a guy I've never heard of before. "Flower" premiered a year ago at the Tribeca Film Festival, and finally opened at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati this past weekend, No idea why it has taken so long to get a theatrical release, but better late then never I suppose. The Friday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended poorly (4 people in total, including myself), and given that this movie won't benefit from strong word-of-mouth, this will not be playing long in theaters. In the end, "Flower' is notable only to see Zoey Deutch, but I encourage you to check it out, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

• You won't want to plant this 'Flower'!

  dvd40402018-02-08

  Sometimes you get a film that seems so good on paper, but after you watch it, you can't help but be sorely disappointed in just about everything you've witnessed. 'Flower' is that kind of movie that had a lot of potential, but just couldn't get it together for anyone to really relate to, even though it tried to be realistic. The film was directed by Max Winkler who hasn't really done anything before this, and was written by three male writers, which is weird, because the main characters are female, which causes some strange dialogue for sure. The story centers on a teenage girl named Erica (Zoey Deutch, the chick from 'Everybody Wants Some'), who is a fast talking, inappropriate young woman who loves to eat at the bowling alley, draw penises in her notebook, and give anyone blowjobs that crosses her path. She seems to love giving blowjobs, but she blackmails everyone she does it to for all the cash they have with the help of her two dumb friends who sneak up on her victims with their camera phones. Erica's mother (Kathryn Hahn) is trying to pick up the pieces of recent breakups and Erica's biological dad who is in jail for something "awesome", but she has new boyfriend now named Sherm who comes with a teenage son who is awkward to say the least. Erica has no intention of being nice to this new kid who has moved in, but she changes her tune when she walks in on him trying to commit a ridiculous suicide attempt. From here, she learns that her future step brother has problems due to a former teacher who has molested him, which is the same person (Adam Scott), she has the hots for at the bowling alley. She tries to conceive a plan to blackmail this guy who has a different story of things. This is where the film turns into a ridiculous 'Very Bad Things' situation for no real reason at all and it just gets more disgusting from there. The problem here is that the writers and director failed to make Erica and her friends likable or redeeming in any way, shape or form. Right form the get-go, you hate this girl and her friends. You'd think if this was a coming-of-age film, there would be some sort of redeeming quality or someone would learn a thing or two, but not here. Everyone is just so annoying, unfunny, and just awful people, with the exception of Sherm and Erica's mother. With this aspect, you can't expect to love or connect with the main protagonist at all. Even if this movie was in the remote bit realistic (it definitely isn't), it still would seem far-fetched and unlikable. As for the performances themselves, I really like Zoey Deutch and she plays this part very well, but the character just gets in the way of being any sort of charming or witty. Adam Scott is fantastic in a role that's very subtly off in a bad way and he kills it in every frame. Hahn again is excellent too as the frazzled mother. 'Flower' should have been a great film, but due to the super unlikable characters and the film taking an over-the-top turn, there's just no redeeming part about it.

• The first two acts of the movie are really interesting and involving.

  Hellmant2018-04-13

  'FLOWER': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five) An indie comedy-drama about a troubled teenage girl who bonds with her mentally unstable step-brother, and helps him stalk a teacher that he says sexually assaulted him years earlier. The film stars Zoey Deutch, Joey Morgan, Kathryn Hahn, Tim Heidecker and Adam Scott. It was directed by Max Winkler, and it was written by Alex McAulay, Matt Spicer and Winkler (the script was on the Black List of the best unproduced screenplays in 2012). It's received mixed to negative reviews from critics, and it got a limited indie theatrical release at the Box Office. I enjoyed most of it. A troubled and very sexually active teen, named Erica (Deutch), forms a unique friendship with her potential step-brother, Luke (Morgan). She finds out that he claims he was sexually abused, years earlier, by a frequent bowler at the bowling alley her and her friends hangout at, named Will (Scott). Erica and her friends then devise a plan to get revenge on Will, for what he did to Luke, and hopefully prevent him from doing it to anyone else. Things don't go as planned though, and Erica and Luke quickly find themselves in a lot of trouble. The first two acts of the movie are really interesting and involving, and I actually cared about the characters and was intrigued by where the story was taking them. Then the final act of the film gets kind of cheesy and totally unrealistic. The conclusion is just too satisfying, and it doesn't seem true to the rest of the movie (in my opinion). I really like everything leading up to it though, especially Deutch in the lead (she gives a really strong performance in it). I also really like the supporting cast; Hahn, Scott and Heidecker are all really talented and totally likable actors. I just wish the movie had a different (better) ending.

• Pervbusters!

  Darth_Osmosis2018-05-31

  This is one of the most offbeat and weird movies I have seen in a while, in a good way! It's funny, raunchy, and really unpredictable. It also manages to be sweet(in a kinda weird, but still!), which I didn't think it would.. Not for everyone, but if you are up to seeing something different and aren't easily offended, give it a shot!