The Graduates

A micro-budgeted coming-of-age comedy, The Graduates follows amiable teenager Ben (Rob Bradford) as he and three buddies (Blake Merriman’s Andy, Nick Vergara’s Mattie, and Mike Pennacchio’s Nickie) head to Ocean City, Maryland to celebrate the end of their high school careers – with the movie subsequently revolving around their individual attempts at overcoming a series of long-gestating issues (eg Ben hopes to finally bed Stephanie Lynn’s Annie, Nickie must deal with his anger-control problems, etc). It’s a familiar set-up that’s generally employed to less-than-enthralling effect by filmmaker Ryan Gielen, as the writer/director places a consistent emphasis on elements of an almost egregiously clichéd nature (eg Ben doggedly pursues the vacuous Annie despite his obvious connection with a lifelong female friend). There’s consequently little doubt that the movie’s plotless atmosphere grows increasingly problematic as time passes, with the inclusion of several momentum-killing party sequences only exacerbating the narrative’s meandering sensibilities. Having said that, The Graduates never quite becomes the flat-out unwatchable endeavor one might’ve expected – as Gielen effectively peppers the proceedings with a few undeniably compelling interludes (eg Andy forces Nickie to confront a group of intimidating locals). And while many of the actors offer up solid performances that belie the movie’s low-budget origins, Bradford proves unable to transform Ben into the affable everyman that Gielen clearly wants him to be – which ultimately ensures that one’s efforts at rooting for the character’s success fall entirely flat (and even dulls the impact of the third act’s emotional revelations). The final result is an uneven piece of work that’s simply not able to distinguish itself from its myriad of similarly-themed shot-on-the-cheap brethren, although, to be fair, Gielen does possess some promise as a filmmaker and it seems likely that his next effort will fare a whole lot better.

** out of ****