Rating: 
Summary: Discover a Hidden Treasure
Review: I JUST watched this film. I have to admit, it is easy for me to judge a film I watch late at night by quite simply whether or not I can make it the credits. Instead, here I am at 1 AM writing a review. That is how good this film was.
I came across this film in the dollar video store down the street (my second residence). I recognized the title, plus the cover caught my eye. I somewhat relunctantly rented it and honestly it because there wasn't much else there (since I prefer the non-mainstream). Also, because most anything that bears "Sundance" or some other international film festival on the cover, I am willing to give a try.
Two minutes into the film, the actors had captivated my emotions. They had already completely convinced me they were falling in love (something I am very picky about). Paul and Noel have a rare chemistry that made it so real. The film was also beautifully shot. It captured those little things that are so often overlooked. The movie really touched me, I cried. I cried a lot actually. I don't think that is what the movie is necessarily going for, and it may not make you feel that way. I just related with it on some level that most movies never stir.
I told myself I wouldn't go on and on about this movie. I really just want to recommend it to anyone. I can see however, that it may not be for everyone. It could be called "slow-paced." However, if you are interested in a great, honest, story about love, and life, that is not conventional, that is brillantly shot...watch this. All I really came to say is: RENT IT. This movie made my day; finding an unexpectedly genuine treasure amongst the rows of meaningless films in the video store.Just watch it for yourself...
Rating:
Summary: Uneasy young love on a Sunday morning in Carolina
Review: "All the Real Girls" lurks, and it lurks, and it lurks, until it haunts. It is a messy romance movie, a little cool to the touch, a little wrapped up in itself. But the effect is bone-rattling. I won't say much -- and I am not a planted reviewer -- but the movie confirms the arrival of David Gordon Green as a serious, in-the-game filmmaker. His pervious film was "George Washington," and it, too, was a messy tale of heroism, gothic pain and love and mortality. It was also the most visually striking film aside from "Dancer In the Dark" that I have seen in some time. "All the Real Girls" does not have the epic power that movie possessed -- "George Washington" is out of time, out of mind -- but it has a more cohesive, enjoyable narrative, it is not as weirdly symbolic and, most importantly, it's about adults. I recommend it highly, even if I think the sum of the parts do not transcend the parts themselves. I await the moment when Green makes a whole film, start to finish, possibly without a script he has written. His talent is unique and immense.
Rating:
Summary: Not for everyone
Review: "All the Real Girls", a movie about young love, is a slow-moving character study that will probably bore most viewers to death. If you can stick with it, however, you will be engrossed in the realistic love affair between Paul (Paul Schneider) and Noel (Zooey Deschanel). Both Schneider and Deschanel realistically portray the young lovers and director David Gordon Green never lets the story become silly or contrived. One of the best films of 2003 as far as I'm concerned.
Rating: 
Summary: Emotional Lies
Review: After watching this movie, I'm at a loss at how a Sundance jury saw "Emotional Truth" in this movie. There's nothing truthful about this film. Paul destroys his mom's car, but she doesn't say anything about it. Paul smashes a beer mug in front of a bartender in biker gear, but he doesn't pounded for destroying property. Noelle's parents spend a fortune to send her to a private school for six years, but they don't have a problem with her working a minimum wage job at the textile factory? Paul's mom supposedly repairs pianos, but leaves them exposed to the elements. Paul supposedly is a grease monkey, but all we see is him and his friends dusting cars in a junkyard. Paul's best friend gets angry when he dates his sister, but the subject isn't brought up when the two meet. He admits to Paul that he has a soft spot for ladybugs. Why? Why are we supposed to believe that Paul loves Noelle? That she's the first woman he's truly loved compared to his one night stands that are scarttered through the small town. Judging from the "love scene" it's hard to believe that Paul is the stud with the ladies. It's less a case of him being a lothario and more of the girls realizing he's lame in the sack and moving on. There are a lot of stupid and useless scenes in the film. Why was Paul racing his mother's car at a dirt track? What exactly was the tribute to Baraka doing in the middle of the plot (oh, wait, that would mean there is a plot). And why didn't the film end five minutes earlier instead of limping on? While leaving the theater, an older guy who had just seen that film said, "Maybe I'm just not smart enough to understand it." One critic said that this film was made up of the moments that other love stories overlook. Maybe it's because those key moments must have been so pathetic it was easier to cut them out and play to the small indie audience that is entertained by films that the masses don't get - mainly because there's nothing to get. Wonder how many of those scenes will be in the deleted section? My wife got nasty about me dragging her to see this film. When your wife complains about being taken to a romantic film, there's a problem with that film.
Rating:
Summary: Tender and haunting.
Review: ALL THE REAL GIRLS, the new romantic drama by David Gordon Green, is one of those rare films that gets love right. It is a tender, compelling, and haunting love story with disturbingly strong performances. Paul Schneider heads the cast as Paul, a local kid with a bad reputation for toying around with several women. He soon finds himself falling truly in his best friend's (Shea Whigam) beloved sister, Noel (Zooey Deschanel). Noel has never been in a serious relationship, and neither has Paul. But... will their individual flaws ruin their only chance at love? Schneider is very good as the torn Paul. You can see his transformation into a young man trying to get his life on track. Zooey Deschanel is stunning in every way, and it is so easy to see why Paul is willing to change himself for her. I sense a star in the making... Shea Whigam is remarkable as Tip, Paul's "partner in crime". Observe his facial expressions when he announces to Paul that his girlfriend is expecting a child. An amazing performance. Last but not least, Patricia Clarkson turns in yet another fine supporting turn as Paul's long-suffering mother. Elvira is a women who is trying so hard to hold on to what she has, while at the same time... striving for something more. REAL GIRLS is a film about the awkward and heartbreaking nature of raw and naive love. It is gentle, bittersweet, unflinching... and so damn powerful.
Rating:
Summary: A film for those who love life
Review: David Gordon Green follows up his stunning success, "George Washington" (2000), with his second feature, "All the Real Girls," a film so exceptional, I want to thank him for making it. Never has stinging heartbreak been so vivid, so ethereal, and yet so grounded. We're immersed in the Carolina countryside, the smoky mountains, sun-dappled faces, playgrounds, lakes and rivers, scrap yards, the shattered remains of a town, filled with people who have no dreams, except that which holds them closest - family and love. "Girls", at heart, is a sincere love story concerning Paul (Paul Schneider) and Noel (Zooey Deschanel). Their love deliberately avoids the clichés that most Hollywood films embrace, and instead, goes for the heart and the gut. Green sets a tone of longing and loss, feeding the mounting power of the story, but he also mixes in some unforced comedy; this is life and it feels real. Schneider and Deschanel give two varied and distinctive performances; they deserve much praise for the success of this film. Tim Orr's cinematography adds warmth and texture; he is fascinated with nature, and understands that our environment induces emotional reactions. My chest was in knots, and I soaked it up. I reveled in knowing that resolutions are elusive, that love exasperates, that films this good appear once in a blue, Carolina moon, that "All the Real Girls" is a masterpiece.
Rating: 
Summary: A real surprise
Review: David Gordon Green's follow-up to his fab debut George Washington is a sensitive exploration of young love in a Southern mill town. Paul, Paul Schneider, is a 20-year-old rake who has slept with all the available girls in his town. But when he falls in love with 18-year-old virgin Noel, Zooey Deschanel, his emotional life suddenly blossoms. The complication is that Paul's best friend is also Noel's brother and so naturally protective of his relatively sheltered sister. An intelligent, delicate movie that steers clear of every cliche of teenage sexuality to ask some very pertinent questions about emotional responsibility and other aspects of love.
Rating:
Summary: Completely overrated
Review: Don't get me wrong; I love small independent films, and I love slow-moving films. This film, however, is unspeakably dull and its characters moronic. I lost interest well before the end, and I'm sorry I wasted my time on it. Apparently some people really love this film, but I would suggest keeping your expectations low if you decide to watch it.
Rating:
Summary: Not Tender or Haunting Really but Semi-Accurate
Review: Funny thing about filmmaking. Hollywood generally reduces small town folk to incestuous cannibals who want to capture us city folk then kill us, rape us and cook us up in a large vat. Then Indie films come along, take those same small town people and glorify their lives. I guess indie directors want to be outsiders... or at least pretend to be. The odd thing is that the type of people in the film would never actually watch this movie. Anyway "All the Real Girls" is a decent movie I guess in that it portrays the charcters and relationships in a fairly real manner which is something rarely done well in films these days. Think about it... a smalltown Romeo swimming in his little pond is going to have a vicious rep and that's going to cause some issues. Furthermore, the college drop-out come home is likely to fall into the same charms that many of those other women did. The question then is can he change and commit when he thinks he's falling in love? And if so, will anyone ever believe him? Both great questions. The problem though is that this movie is at times painfully slow. While it may be a bit necessary for the full development of the characters it is a bit tedious. I had great trouble over the course of many weeks actually piecing the entire thing together... no chance a human can watch this in 1 sitting. Good movie, just a question of whether you'll think the payoff was worth the pain.
Rating:
Summary: What's with the title?
Review: I didn't like this movie because the title provides only a cursory idea of what the movie is about and the film is idiosycratic in ways that are unforgivable. First, the film is mostly about one guy who used to be a womanizer and is trying to change his ways with a girl that is his ideal of the savior. When that doesn't work out he becomes a mess that he doesn't completely recover from. The film is about the characters overcoming their idylic obsessions and settling for what's really there. There's a sense of settling at the end, however it's the main character who settles himself down and not his relationship with the girl, or his mother. I was also surprised that women didn't have main roles in this film considering the title, but the film isn't really interested in them. They only exist to show the main character's flaws. A very unsatisfactory film is the result.
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