| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
From director J.J. Abrams comes the next installment in the Star Trek saga, Star Trek Into Darkness. See it at Cinemark theaters now and pre-order on Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, DVD, and the Exclusive Starfleet Phaser Gift Set. Shop Star Trek Into Darkness and more in the Star Trek Store. Learn more |
Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
Special Features
None.
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Writer-director Whit Stillman let more than a decade lapse between 1998's Last Days of Disco and 2012's Damsels in Distress. Happily, the Whit and wisdom (and slightly pixilated screwball style) did not diminish one iota during Stillman's layoff: Damsels is literate and daffy in equal measure. It's tempting to describe the movie's subject as Clueless-in-college, as it features a group of young women who share a very specific set of theories and rules about behavior between the sexes. In particular, Violet (Greta Gerwig) and her sidekicks Rose (Megalyn Echikunwoke) and Heather (Carrie MacLemore) descend upon Lily (Analeigh Tipton), a newcomer at a tony Ivy League (or Ivy League-ish) university, with a mind toward "helping" the gawky--but by no means helpless, really--coed. Violet is full of curious ideas about men, which she delivers with full confidence, even though her theories don't play all that well in reality. Gerwig (from Greenberg and many indie titles) makes a meal of this role, her wide-eyed sincerity and deadpan drawl perfectly suited to Stillman's cheerfully stylized dialogue. In fact, the entire film takes place inside a sun-washed cocoon even more tightly knit than Stillman's previous movies; there's little hint of the real world here, just a comedy of manners closer to the universe of Oscar Wilde and Preston Sturges than the place you went to college. And yet some truths come along, which gives a tang to the wackiness. And now, everybody do the international dance craze known as the Sambola! --Robert Horton
Product Description
Damsels in Distress is a comedy that follows a trio of beautiful girls who set out to revolutionize life at a grungy East Coast university - the dynamic leader Violet Wister (Greta Gerwig), principled Rose (Megalyn Echikunwoke) and sexy Heather (Carrie MacLemore). They welcome transfer student Lily (Analeigh Tipton) into their group which seeks to help severely depressed students with a program of good scent and musical dance numbers. The girls become romantically entangled with a series of men - including slick Charlie (Adam Brody), dreamboat Xavier (Hugo Becker) and the mad frat pack of Frank (Ryan Metcalf) and Thor (Billy Magnussen) - who threaten the girls' friendship and sanity.
Customer Reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is the long-awaited return of writer-director Whit Stillman, who we last saw with the delicious 1998's "Last Days of Disco" movie.
"Damsels in Distress" (98 min.) brings the story set at a fictional Northeast university in which a group of young women, namely Violet (played by Greta Gerwig), Rose (played by Megalyn Echikunwoke) and Heather (played by Carrie MacLemore) take a transfer student Lily (played by Analeigh Tipton) under their wings. The group is determined to bring a better life to students, running the Suicide Center (which they rename the Suice Prevention Center). Of course that is not counting for the guy troubles that may, and will, occur. One of those is a fellow named Xavier. There is a hilarious scene in which Lily tries to explain that Xavier is spelled with an X, when one of the other girls say that it is surely it is spelled with a Z, as in "Zorro", at which point Violet surmises that the letters X and Z are pronouned the same when not ending in a word, ha! Gerwig's performance pretty much carries this movie, as she shows her vulnerability and you can't help but rooting for her all the way.
This light and quirky tone never leaves the movie, and I found myself quite smiling a lot (but not laughing out loud). Truth be told, the "tone" of the movie is better than the actual plot (which I won't give away here, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out). In all, this is a quirky little but loveable movie. This is MILES away from your Hollywood standard fare, and if you are into such type movie, I would readily recommend this. Nothing earth-shattering, just plain likeable. In that sense, "Damsels in Distress" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
"Damsels in Distress" (98 min.) brings the story set at a fictional Northeast university in which a group of young women, namely Violet (played by Greta Gerwig), Rose (played by Megalyn Echikunwoke) and Heather (played by Carrie MacLemore) take a transfer student Lily (played by Analeigh Tipton) under their wings. The group is determined to bring a better life to students, running the Suicide Center (which they rename the Suice Prevention Center). Of course that is not counting for the guy troubles that may, and will, occur. One of those is a fellow named Xavier. There is a hilarious scene in which Lily tries to explain that Xavier is spelled with an X, when one of the other girls say that it is surely it is spelled with a Z, as in "Zorro", at which point Violet surmises that the letters X and Z are pronouned the same when not ending in a word, ha! Gerwig's performance pretty much carries this movie, as she shows her vulnerability and you can't help but rooting for her all the way.
This light and quirky tone never leaves the movie, and I found myself quite smiling a lot (but not laughing out loud). Truth be told, the "tone" of the movie is better than the actual plot (which I won't give away here, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out). In all, this is a quirky little but loveable movie. This is MILES away from your Hollywood standard fare, and if you are into such type movie, I would readily recommend this. Nothing earth-shattering, just plain likeable. In that sense, "Damsels in Distress" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By J. Ferrigno
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
After reading reviews I thought this film would be much different than his others but now that I have seen it I think it was quite similar. It is critical, smart, interesting, and funny. Some of the dialogue is absolutely hilarious. Whit Stillman is the only filmmaker I know of that writes pretty realistic yet comic films about the elite. It is fascinating to me to see how these people think. This film, even more than his others, shows how sad and pathetic the people that run the world really are. Sure they are oppressing just about everyone on earth and their actions cause untold devastation and suffering yet they believe they are doing the right thing "God's Work". This is a scathing yet sympathetic critique of the American aristocracy. One would think this would be impossible but here it is. He really has matured as a filmmaker. This is his most complex and nuanced work yet. Also, as with most cutting edge art, this film will likely require repeated exposure for one to learn to really appreciate its brilliance. I look forward to many further viewings.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By alooknac
Format:DVD
I knew nothing about this director; this was a random choice of movie for me after seeing a preview. It's definitely quirky, ridiculous, and all those other adjectives people have used. You either like that or you don't, and maybe you like this version of it or you don't.
The first part got a little old for me and I did consider not finishing the movie but I'm glad I did. The characters and plot changed and evolved and I laughed and smiled more in the second half and found the ending charming.
The first part got a little old for me and I did consider not finishing the movie but I'm glad I did. The characters and plot changed and evolved and I laughed and smiled more in the second half and found the ending charming.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Whit Stillman's funniest film
I love Whit's films. This is now my favorite. His philosophy will guide us all through life (and possibly prevent suicide).
Published 1 month ago by florida
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delight in Damsel-Land: International Dance Crazes, Soap and Roman...
First, the short version: _Damsels in Distress_ is a delightful romp across the fictional landscape of the campus of Seven Oaks. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Canardian
5.0 out of 5 stars
Can we make Greta Gerwig a thing?
Whit Stillman has quite the following and quite the distinct directorial style. I still remember quite fondly my first dance with the director; 1990’s ‘Metropolitan’. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Andrew Ellington
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fans of Whit Stillman will welcome his return
There may be spoilers.
Director Whit Stillman hasn't made a movie in more than a decade, so I was looking forward to this, his fourth film. Read more
Director Whit Stillman hasn't made a movie in more than a decade, so I was looking forward to this, his fourth film. Read more
Published 4 months ago by M. Oleson
5.0 out of 5 stars
holds up
This film holds up even after seeing it in the theater already. Great comic timing on the part of the cast members. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Carolyn M. Waldron
2.0 out of 5 stars
Your "Not Helpful" Click Is Useless Unless You Leave A Comment
Allow me a quick indulgence here before the actual review. I've noticed here on Amazon that a lot of thought out and what I would consider helpful reviews are marked as... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Darren O'Neill
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cleverly written, delightful and full of humor, "Damsels in Distress"...
Whit Stillman, the director who brought us "Metropolitan", "The Last Days of Disco" and "Barcelona". Read more
Published 5 months ago by Dennis A. Amith (kndy)
5.0 out of 5 stars
A funny, beautiful movie
I really was not expecting too much from Whit Stillman in this fourth movie. It's been a long time since the last one, and in some ways, those movies seem to belong to a different... Read more
Published 5 months ago by That's It!
2.0 out of 5 stars
Best Parts were in the advertisements.
While we chose this flick in hopes of finding a quirky independent flick, what we found was not very interesting or creative and unfortunately we'd already seen the best parts of... Read more
Published 6 months ago by MCH
4.0 out of 5 stars
This should not be your first Whit Stillman film
Well, it has been a long wait. I had just come back from a year studying abroad in Europe and I stumbled into the theater to see a film that I did not know anything about, that... Read more
Published 6 months ago by TripsCallerDoh
Look for Similar Items by Category
|
