Nelson Strang This would be a one-or-two-star disaster, were it not for the presence of John Cusack to elevate it. I've been ruminating on what makes this so bad. The script is only mediocre, not awful, so the thing that really brings the whole film down is the casting. If they had cast actors with more imagination, they would have been able to bring a little more life to this dull material and made the film at least a 5-star average. As it is, this is mediocre at best and certainly not worth watching, unless you're a Cusack completist.

Michael Ledo There once was a girl from New York Who had never been porked She worked at a job Selling plastic knobs Then she lost it all to a dorkBilly Collins said we all have about 200 bad poems in us. Middle school and high school is a good time to get it out of our system. Amy (Emma Roberts) has about 20,000 bad poems in her and thinks she is good. She majored in poetry acquiring no jobs skills, setting back her parents $90,000. Depressed she moves out and gets a job at Adult World and hangs out with a crowd of fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Local poet Rat Billings (John Cusack) is her idol and she forces herself, to his dismay, into his life.The film is another luke warm indie dying to be clever and finding an audience, which it has among would be poets. Amy's dreary life is symbolized by the dreary scenes of a depressed urban area in upstate New York. The actors saved a bad script. The use of a cross dressing gay (Armando Riesco) was funny in "The World According to Garp," but now it just shows lack of writing skill and originality which is what I really want in an indie.

okan-bullici In 2013, it was a hard period for me when I was extremely feeling so much pressure on my shoulders regarding to college and all other future stuff. This movie totally reflected how a college/university candidate feels like in many senses. The movie is full of emotions, especially determination and I wish I watched it in 2013... it could have make me more relax and aware of the things that are related to future and career plans. At the end, only thing that I felt is a sweet connection and sense of empathy between me and all the characters inside the movie. Anyone who would like to remember the college years of themselves or their children(s) should watch it. It's a beautiful movie.

SnoopyStyle Amy Anderson (Emma Roberts) is a college poetry student. Fellow student Josh tries to trick her into a sex tape. Her parents cut her off and she is forced to get a job. The virgin Amy reluctantly takes a job at the sex shop Adult World run by elderly couple Mary Anne and Stan. Alex (Evan Peters) is the manager. Amy is obsessed with writer Rat Billings (John Cusack). Her car is stolen but her insurance is void because the money her parents gave her for insurance has been spent on failed poetry contests. She runs away from home and crashes with transgender Rubia. She gets kicked out and rents a house with friend Candace (Shannon Woodward) near Billings.Emma Roberts is good at the try-hard obsessive-stalker Amy character. The problem is the character has other aspects that doesn't really work. She's supposed to be a clueless virginal innocent. Roberts hasn't been that since as a child star in her TV show. Her character starts by hooking up with Josh at a college party. She's not so clueless that she doesn't know why the video gets sticky. The movie wants her to be wacky funny in some instances and it doesn't always work. Her obsessive stalking of John Cusack is pretty good and filled with fun. This movie is not as funny as it wants to be.