Daydream Nation

Before it completely wears out its welcome, Daydream Nation basically comes off as a watchable teen drama revolving around Caroline Wexler’s (Kat Dennings) arrival at a small-town high school – where she quickly launches into an illicit affair with one of her teachers (Josh Lucas’ Barry Anderson). Filmmaker Mike Goldbach has infused Daydream Nation with an incredibly ostentatious sense of style that proves effective at initially capturing the viewer’s interest, as it becomes relatively easy to overlook the familiarity of the first-time director’s screenplay as a result (ie the viewer is kept distracted by Goldbach’s consistently over-the-top visual choices). It’s only as the movie progresses that one’s interest begins to wane, with Dennings’ almost hopelessly familiar performance – ie how many times is she going to play a precocious, sardonic teen? – certainly playing a key role in the film’s downfall. Far more problematic, however, is the decidedly (and progressively) absurd nature of Lucas’ storyline, as his character is ultimately subjected to several plot twists that would seem over-the-top on a daytime soap. (And this is to say nothing of the eye-rollingly melodramatic nature of the movie’s third act, which contains, among other things, a fake break-up.) The final result is a woefully misguided endeavor that might’ve worked as a 15 minute installment in a short-film compilation, yet, within the context of a full-length feature, Daydream Nation is simply unable to positively impact the viewer on anything resembling a consistent basis.

** out of ****