The Art of Getting By has the potential to be a moving and original coming-of-age story about teen romance and self-discovery. Though it has the tools and characters to possibly teach us something profound, the film ultimately doesn't deliver too much. Instead, Getting By is content to take us to a place with which we're already familiar without adding any insight, and that's a bit of a letdown.
Fortunately for this Sundance Film Festival selection, Getting By has two immensely likeable and talented young leads, who carry much of the film. Freddie Highmore plays George Zinavoy, a standard-issue struggling artist who's too talented and intelligent for his own good. George opens the movie with a bit of a narration, quoting the line, "We are born alone, we die alone. Everything in between is an illusion." He believes that statement and is perfectly content being an 18-year-old high school senior who actually lives by it. A fatalist, he finds no use for homework, and mouths off to the adults around him. In a visit to Principal William Martinson's (Blair Underwood) office, George casually greets him as "Bill." These visits are routine for George, but "Bill" informs him that if he doesn't start doing his schoolwork, he won't be graduating.
Motivation arrives in the form of a new friend, Sally (Emma Roberts), who is both charming and beautiful. She's a bit upper-crusty, although she doesn't carry herself that way. The two clearly have feelings for one another, but as in any high school relationship, it's a complicated mess of emotions. George is too much in his own mind to realize Sally likes him, and his refusal to close the deal allows for another guy to enter the picture. Dustin (Michael Angarano), a fellow angsty artist and friend of George, seems a little too interested in Sally when introduced. Dustin leaves Sally alone at first because he can tell George likes her, but things change when guy number one never makes a move.
Getting By won me over because of Highmore and Roberts. Watching these two on screen made for an enjoyable teen romance — albeit a formulaic one. That said, rookie writer/director Gavin Wiesen has some work to do as far as screenplays are concerned. His young characters make decisions and ping-pong between emotions quicker than we can keep up with them. It's tempting to write that off as just how teenagers think and act, but on the screen it feels like less a reflection of reality and more like an uneven script. I was finally able to buy into the notion that the decisions the young characters make are based on confusion and naïve passion, but it annoyed me none the less.
The Art of Getting By has plenty of potential but is too content with letting only the simplest form of its story play out. Still, it's a genuine and likeable account of two high schoolers who may or may not realize they're in love. I rolled my eyes a couple of times — both from the clichés and the sticky-sweet subject matter — but I also related to some of the issues and outcomes in this movie. And if my unwanted nostalgia for high school started to kick back in, it was only because the portrayal of young love in The Art of Getting By ultimately rings true.
This article appears in Jun 16-22, 2011.