Big Hearted Family Rallies Around College Grad

Its college graduation time for ‘go-getter’ Ryden Malby played by Alexis Bledel, of the Gilmore Girls TV series and guess who ends up living back at home instead of the ‘too die for loft apartment’? “Post Grad” is a timely film as the economic crisis has many wide-eyed college grads settling right back in with good old mom and dad. The Malby’s are a fairly normal but sometimes quirky California family with dad as Michael Keaton and mom as Chicago’s own Jane Lynch. Grandma is the gifted comedic, Carol Burnett.  Little brother Hunter, played by Bobby Coleman, is a bit odd, but good-natured.

You can’t help but pity Ryden as she mistakenly thinks that she’d be on her own once she finished her degree. So confident in herself that she even put down money on an apartment before she had the ‘big job.’ Hey, she has the interview, of course she’ll get the job, right? Unfortunately, not in these times.  Upon showing up for her interview, Ryden discovers a room full of applicants that are just as qualified and eager as she is.

Alexis Bledel as the main character in this film is wonderful. She’s bright-eyed and innocent, not to mention adorable. Luckily, she has a great friend named Adam, played by Zach Gilford of the TV series Friday Night Lights, who plays the rock in her life and she doesn’t even realize it.

Mom and Dad are overly helpful and come up with some ideas for Ryden’s job search and side jobs, but in the end, Ryden isn’t going to settle for just any old job, she wants her dream job. I know all too well about this situation. When my son lived with us for about 5 months after college, I signed him up with a casting agent and before he knew it he was working with Dennis Quaid in a football locker room scene on the film “The Express”. Yes, he even had a wardrobe fitting for 1960 boxer style briefs. When the director wanted him back the next day, he told him he couldn’t make it. When I pressed him on the issue he replied, “I want a real job.” Which means, I want ‘the job,’ the one that kept him going the last 4 years of college. I could hardly blame him. I didn’t even go into the gorilla suit mascot photo shoot where he could have earned $600.00 for the morning.

Parents do try and help, however,  kids will ultimately draw the line. Ryden ends up wearing a crazy bellhop costume to try and sell luggage- a very funny scene in which she ultimately sees the insaneness of her situation and walks out.

One can also sympathize with the Malby family, due the fact that they simply have bad luck. Ryden’s car was smashed just minutes before her interview, brother Hunter’s go-cart brakes fail and he ends up in the lake, grandma has to bail dad out of jail–let’s just keep the jest of that a secret for now. The point being, many mishaps do occur, but in the course of them all, the family stays united and tries to work through their misfortunes.

Michael Keaton is enjoyable to watch and always one of my favorites. He appears to be having a great time in this film and works well with the talented Jane Lynch. He plays a concerned and loving Dad who is highly distractible, but can easily get back on track with a little nudge. Even though this film appears to be a comedy, it has a poignant message. Ryden does make a huge mistake with her friend Adam. She is forgiven,  but knows that she’ll never have the same relationship unless she totally redeems herself.

The film tugs at heart strings and has several messages. A great line near the end of the film, comes out of nowhere from the next door hunky Latino neighbor, David. “What you do with your life is only half of the equation; the most important part is who you are doing it with.” David suddenly decides he’s leaving town and goes back to South America as he misses his family.

The reason this film works so well is because the mixture of comedy and every day family situations are played out in a random sort of way and the script never loses sight of the main themes which are the importance of family and relationships.

Sarah Adamson © 2009