Palo Alto, CA

Watching this it's easy to believe it's an independent film, but I was surprised and impressed to learn it was also a first film for the producer, writer and director. The production values were very high, the casting was spot on, the direction was excellent, the music moved with the story, and the story telling was terrific. Hard to believe that the director couldn't legally drink at the post-production party because he was still under 21.

There are at least four major stories happening at once, each centered around one of four college friends who are back home in Palo Alto for Thanksgiving break. Other sub-plots and side-plots figure in, generally offering more meat than filler.

My only question was how these four guys actually came to be friends. High school tends not to be a very egalitarian environment, and it seemed to me that these four fellows might not have had enough in common in high school to be this close after a little college time.

Still, the individual stories were all true to life, not overly complex (which would have been inappropriate for the age of the characters), and interesting. Living in Palo Alto, part of me wishes the locale could have figured into the stories a tiny bit more, but that's a minor quibble. Not only do I recommend this (more of a guy flick than a chick flick), but I'll definitely watch it again. Well done, you first-timers!

This movie is an incredible testament to youth culture today. I loved every second of it, and almost didn't believe it when I was told it was made by people my own age.

Instead of watching what big studios THINK we want to see, those of us who saw this at Tribeca got to see something that we actually relate to. The characters were not caricatures (which is a first in this genre), and it promotes some *actual* creative thought. The movie also features some incredible young talent in the acting world that was very innovative of the crew to cast.

I loved this movie, I wish I could see something like this more often in the creative world.

I just saw Palo Alto at the Tribeca Film Festival. I loved this movie. Sure, any movie will seem better when you are seeing it at the world premier with members of the cast and crew in the theater, but this is a film that everyone can enjoy. If you liked Garden State you should definitely see this. For an older reference, think back to American Graffiti. The four high school friends who are home for Thanksgiving vacation meet and then separate for the evening. The movie follows the four on their different experiences. Usually when a movie does this I find that there are only one or two story lines that are interesting but in this case I was looking forward to the return of each character. The characters evolve in ways that are both entertaining and believable because the writing is real and the actors played their parts perfectly. Tom Arnold played the funny character who pops into scenes with wit and wisdom. While in some movies this character is one-dimensional, even this character had depth in Palo Alto. Also, the music was perfect and I hope a soundtrack is released. Be sure to see this movie when it is released.

The modern cure for every lost and cynical teen, "Palo Alto" aims to eliminate the common misconception that life must be perfect. The lifestyles of four college freshman yield separate crises that are inevitably tied together to exploit this theme.

For one character, the true meaning of fraternity brotherhood is understood--a relief granted by this film, as most college movies portray frats as only about "chicks and beer."

For another character, his life is turned around by an old bus driver and a lonely, quirky girl that is played tremendously well by Autumn Reeser.

There are other characters as well, but summarizing them here will give too much away.

To finalize: Being an independent film, it's up to the viewer to choose how to relate to each character. That said, it is definitely a "Thinker" film. So pay attention!

I actually watched this movie after "IMDBing" Ben Savage and seeing this as his recent work decided to watch it. Also my Dad grew up in Palo,Alto Cal and I got even more interested. I don't usually watch independent films just because I usually never hear about them. But I actually really connected and liked this film, being around there age and feeling a bit confused in life at times. I sat down and watched and I was amazed with what I saw. So the next morning I made my sister watch it and she was just as amazed. This was by far one of the best I had ever seen. It reminded me of Juno or Nick and Norahs's infinite play list a bit. The performances are brilliant and actually has more truth to them then most movies. All I ask is you check it out. Give it a shot. And you might just find a new favorite like I did.