Good Dick
Marianna Palka / United States of America / 2008 / 86 mins
Starring: Jason Ritter, Marianna Palka, Eric Edelstein, Martin Starr, Mark Weber

It's the classic romance: girl meets boy whilst she's renting porn from him, boy follows girl home and s/talks his way into her life, girl gets nervy...

Even in the self-consciously well populated land of quirky that is low budget indie cinema Good Dick stands out as unusual. Whilst there are some recognizable landmarks - the chattering video store clerks debating the finer details of the female anatomy, the beautiful but broken leads, the concentration on low speed grit - there is some rarely ploughed territory here with the subtle lack of explanation lending both the characters and the film credibility, warmth and real depth which is as unpredictable as that cocky little title is provocative.

Jason Ritter is the (nameless) boy, an enthusiastic clerk at the video store with the substantial porn selection and what appears to be an exceptionally large staff but is actually being swelled artificially by the fact that these are the type of guys who actually come in on their day off because they just can't work out what else to do with their time and the conversation is just better at work... The girl, who comes in late at night all through the week to rent ever trashier porn, is played by writer-director Marianna Palka. The girl is a nervous sparrow of greasy hair and isolated depression. She doesn't take kindly to our lead boys suggestion that she upgrade to a better quality erotica but soon she's watching his recommendations and getting to know each other in a sticatto little dance revolving around an old VHS machine and stack of free rentals.

Don't be fooled by all the porn references here. Although this is certainly not a kids film it is a very sweet and believable film of affection, attention and (not having) control. Ritter is so likable and soapstar handsome that it is great credit to his acting skills that he increasingly makes you disquieted by his actions and motives. Every crossed boundary seems both romantic and creepy so that at every stage you are implicit and hopeful for his bizarre tactics whilst empathising thoroughly with the girl's concern and nervousness of him. Marianna Palka meanwhile is a revelation as the girl: a greasy haired dishevelled creature who is both mysteriously alluring and a very scary prospect for a relationship, scarier still when sparks of the possible reasons for her porn obsession poke through. And yet she Palka makes her so fascinating and vulnerable that the boy's persistance makes absolute sense.

The supporting cast, though they are very much the backdrop to the relationship between boy and girl, are very stong and likable. The boy's video co-workers are the old comfy armchairs of friends to rehash pointless debates with and make the day pass quickly and pleasantly. The sparring between clueless Simon (Martin Starr) and Derek (Mark Webber) is particularly fun whilst Eric Edelstein adds some quiet paternal stability as video shop owner Eric.

In Good Dick Marianna Palka has made a stunning debut as writer and director as well as turning in a superb acting performance. Odd, personal, subtle and eccentric Good Dick is a film that somehow moves from silly title, to enjoyable slacker movie to something much more profoundly touching about the nature of friendship, love and trust. Despite following the story arc conventions of traditional romances in many ways, this is the perfect antidote to the normal Hollywood schmaltz since it is both more romantic, much more believable and much more dysfunctional (with dysfunctional an absoute compliment here since in real life how many of us tick the box for "normal"?). If there are a few bum notes they are seriously minor quibbles that cannot detract from this unusual treat of a film.

Reviewed by Nicola Osborne.