Garden Party
By Marshall Fine
Rating:
Who's in it: Vinessa Shaw, Willa Holland, Richard Gunn
What's it about: A group of young adults in L.A.'s trendy Silver Lake area cross paths in pursuit of careers and romance in this multi-character/storyline film.
Rock on: The central characters include an unhappy painter (Gunn, "Dark Angel"); a real-estate shark (Shaw) who's secretly a pot dealer; her hunky but confused assistant (Alex Cendese); and a would-be rock singer (Erik Smith).
They make and break connections, joined by a need to find an identity and ongoing symbolism involving photographs (to prove they exist?) and the Internet (to prove that you aren't who you look like in photos). It's not earth-shaking but it holds your interest because the characters never do anything predictable. And they're likable, in an ornery way.
Long story short: Here's a surprising trip through Generation Next.
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