MovieChat Forums > Not Cool (2014) Discussion > not bad, not good - both movies

not bad, not good - both movies

posted 10 years ago by hard_drive1968
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I watched both movies, and possibly by mistake, I watched Not Cool first. I really liked Tori's character in Not Cool, and thought she was the best out of the entire cast. The story was easy to follow and the main characters had enough background for you to know who was who and how they relate to each other. The problem I had was with all the potty humor. I'm quite open minded when it comes to film, but some of it was completely unnecessary and didn't prove anything other than to be a laugh for some 14 year old in the audience.
Shane did a decent job acting, but to be honest, he doesn't even remotely resemble the hot-bod highschool hottie that his character portrays.
That being said, I knew what was going on at all times during the film. Not so much for Hollidaysburg. Again, maybe mistakenly I watched NC first, thinking that I would save the better "Indie" film for later. Anna's film was 180 degrees different than Shane's. I couldn't figure out who was who and how they related, and the back story of each character was amiss. Again, this may be because I watched both films back to back and was expecting the characters to have similar roles. I had a hard time remembering who Tori, Scott and Heather were and how they related to the rest of the cast in Hollidaysburg. The transition to different scenes seemed to be very jerky in Hollidaysburg and consistancy seemed to be a problem. Many of the issues I had revolved around Heather's family (or was it Tori's family?)...who was the dark-haired woman at the dinner table? who was the redneck guy at the dinner table? And didn't the 'dad' character seem to be way too young?

I realize that these films were made in a quick timeframe so consistancy is tough (you have to go with the flow for weather conditions, snow melt and sunshine) but I feel that more could have been done to bring the viewer into scenes gently rather than bangin to the next scene.

I gave both films a 6, and will probably re-watch both again just to see if I can figure out what's going on. I was dissappointed in Anna's film and slightly impressed with Shane's film which I wasn't expecting. There were some cool references to Pittsburgh in both (hometown; represent!). Tori in Not Cool is one cool chick!

[–] Funkey_Munkey 10 years ago

I feel the same exact way you do about the movies. I found Hollidaysburg to be really confusing because Tori and Heather look almost exactly the same, so I couldn't keep them straight. And like you, I couldn't figure out how all the characters related. The story didn't seem to flow very well and I was surprised when it just ended. I could barely tell you what the movie was about and I JUST watched it. I liked the humor sprinkled throughout, I think that's one of the highlights of the film. The guy who plays Scott I think was the best actor in the movie. That's about the only good things I can say about it though. The score was bad, and the editing was horrible. It just didn't flow at all.

I am disappointed with Not Cool. I knew about Shane before this show, so I know his style, but it does NOT work for a feature film. This was his chance to make a real movie, and I feel like he just made an extended youtube video. Also, I hate it when directors cast themselves, especially when they are nothing like the part they are playing. Didn't buy Shane as a cool, popular guy for a second. I think the girl who played Tori in this one was great. Highlight of the film for me. I think the directing in this one was a bit better, and the editing was MUCH better. It flowed much more smoothly I feel.

All in all, I'd rather watch Shane's movie, if I had to watch them again. It was straight forward, I knew who all the characters were and their backstories, it wasn't confusing... Just really wish it was a more intelligent comedy. I feel like it caters to the lowest common denominator.