Director: Kris Rey
Writer: Kris Rey (Screenplay)
Starring: Gillian Jacobs, Jermaine Clement, Josh Wiggins, Forrest Goodluck, Hannah Marks, Kate Micucci
Plot: Following the launch of her new novel, 35-year-old writer Kate is invited to speak at her alma matter by her former professor. After accepting the invitation, Kate finds herself deeply enmeshed in the lives of a group of college students.
Runtime: 1 Hour 20 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: I Used to Go Here starts as we meet Kate Conklin (Jacobs) who has just released her first novel with her press tour being pulled and her wedding plans falling through, until she gets invited back to her college by her former professor David (Clement) for reading, with a plan for another reason, to offer her a job teaching.
Once in her college town, she starts to enjoy the trip down memory lane wondering where her life went wrong, looking to get things back on track after spending time with a group of college students who want to follow in her footsteps as an author.
Thoughts on I Used to Go Here
Characters – Kate is an author with her first book just getting released, her book tour gets cancelled after her marriage gets called off leaving her alone with her friends married with children on the way. She returns to her college hometown for a reading and spends her time bonding with the students in her old college home, remembering what she was like during her time in college. David is the professor that taught Kate and invited her back, he is delighted to see her succeed and still has his ways with the students. Hugo is one of the students living in the old college house that Kate lived in, he along with the other students offer her company in time in the old town.
Performances – Gillian Jacobs in the leading role is great to watch in the leading role, she makes us understand all the struggles she is going through during the film. The supporting cast fill their roles well through the film, without getting in the way of Jacobs performance.
Story – The story here follows an author that is struggling with the release of her first novel when she ends up return to her college town to walk down memory lane learning and giving life lessons to people there. This does show us how important not having the biggest expectations in life can take time to learn, once you finish education, you could blink and realize you have missed large parts of life, but you can always snap out of routine to make something more, because people will be there for you. The story does well to help Kate learn about herself, while she can also help the students learn about what will come next in their lives, with a big heart about making the most of life.
Comedy/Romance – The comedy in the film does work, it comes with more heart than pure laughs, with the difficult stage of Kate’s life getting more laughs at the way she feels older when looking at the student she remembers fondly, with the romance being more about what was once lost, more than looking for more sparks to fly.
Settings – The film uses the small town college setting to show how the places we grow up, will be the places we won’t forget in life, each place brings back a memory for Kate.
Scene of the Movie – Tall Brandon special night.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not enough of the professor, which did include his offer to start the film rolling.
Final Thoughts – This is a film filled with a way to look at life in a reflective mood and see what could have been, but most importantly, what could be.
Signature Entertainment presents I Used To Go Here on Digital HD 14th September
