On the one hand this is quite a shameless Wes Anderson rip-off. The symmetrical shots, whip pans, deadpan & quirky delivery, self-aware title cards, classic rock & baroque instrumentation and a protagonist suffering from a vague sense of ennui; its main point of reference (_Rushmore_) is a little too obvious. Visually this is pretty impressive for a first time feature director, but it completely pales in comparison to Wes’ vibrant imagery. I struggle with the question of how much weight this should carry in regards to my overall feelings on it, considering there are a ton of studio comedies that stylistically don’t even try. At the very least you get a good looking tracking shot in here occasionally, or scenes play out entirely in a wide shot. Setting that issue aside for a second, I was still charmed by a lot of this. The characters are very well drawn and unique, it’s both heartwarming and heartbreaking, the darker themes add emotional depth to the story, most of the jokes land and the performances are all very solid. The script has more than enough ideas to keep the audience hooked from beginning to end (love the filmmaking bits), but I just wish the overall vision felt less pastiche, and maybe it could’ve used a couple more standout moments.

6.5/10