Between the Buried and Me - The Silent Circus

In the days of my youth, I was not impervious to the influence of my friends. As such, if they were listening to crap, I was probably listening to crap too. Most of the music rolled off as soon as it hit me; this facetious bombardment of new wave metal -- known more commonly amongst my peers as "hardcore". I toyed with this sort of music for several years, trying to find more than mere amusement at the expense of these overzealous, out of control hipsters prancing about on stage taking themselves way too seriously. Yet every band I encountered from A to Zao seemed the same: pretentious, overbearing, loud, and unoriginal.

Between the Buried and Me is almost no different. I say almost because, unlike every other hardcore metal band, they managed to leave a lasting impact on me. So much so that years after listening to The Silent Circus, I can still turn it on, crank the volume, and indulge. Sure, there are other bands like them that I can still revisit, but most are rather laugh inducing. The Silent Circus is a record I can take seriously, but only because the band who made the record isn't taking themselves too seriously.

With songs titled things like "Ad A Dglgmut" (which I take is total gibberish) and "Destructo Spin", it's obvious that the band is just straight up having fun with themselves. There are passages of music that are almost "WTF" inducing as time signatures shift all across the board in merely 30 seconds. It's a head-spinning display of technicality that serves almost no one but themselves. And of course, let's not forget the secret track, which is probably both the funniest and most ingenious parody of anything metal that I've heard this century. And come on, a SECRET TRACK? Who does that? That is so Christian ska band. I remember the first time I listened to the album front to back I was doing something else (playing Tribes 2, probably) when this song cranked in out of nowhere. I remember landing on the floor laughing my ass off at just the idea of it. What was this scream-laden heavy metal band doing in secret track land?

Then there are passages of overt melancholy like "Reaction" and "(Shevanel, Take 2)" that are almost so groan-core that you wind up missing the adrenaline sack-tap that is the rest of the record. I think they might be mocking bands that write songs to raise your lighter to, but it so closely boarders genuine that it's really hard to tell. Either way, lyrics like "My head will not rest on this pillow" -- crooned over lightly strumming acoustic guitars -- are absolutely hilarious. This midway repose is, thankfully, only two and a half tracks long, and then the madness fires back up again as if it were never gone.

The madness, however, is a bit more than simple guitar chugging in Drop-D. There's enough powerful guitar solos and melodic shifts involved to qualify it as actual music. That doesn't necessarily mean it looses the ridiculous qualities of most hardcore music. There are still plenty of breakdowns for the dance happy, and there are still completely ludicrous drum passages that only a subhuman could accomplish. Songs like "Coulrophobia" and "Mordecai" are almost ethereal in velocity and volume, and "Aesthetic" has one of the best breakdowns I can probably think of.

If you're not into the whole metal/hardcore scene, this record -- or really any record of the genre -- is going to be hard to recommend. But for the curious, I would say that metal aint gonna' get much better than The Silent Circus. It has everything a metal album should have -- including moments that occasionally give me the giggles.

Random Nothings:

- According to the Wikipedia entry, the secret track is called "The Man Land".
- The grunting during the breakdown of "Aesthetic" becomes increasingly fun to imitate each time I try.
- The reissue has a live DVD of them performing included. Thrash mobs abound I'm sure.

Animal Collective - Feels + Fall Be Kind EP

I'm a little late on the Animal Collective bandwagon. That sentence was like a pun and three-fifths, I think. Anyways, hearing Merriweather Post Pavilion was my first experience with the band, and I was thoroughly impressed. I'm not sure it deserves quite the accolades it has gotten from some of my more esteemed peers, but it did make me want to explore their previous recordings. I struggled through Sung Tongs, but at least I can say I gave it a chance. I think perhaps had I grown into Animal Collective as they released these records it might have been different, but who's to say. Strawberry Jam was fun - sharp, edgy, transcending fun - but it leaned a bit more towards the MPP sound they would create later. Whereas Feels...Feels is a bit different. Feels makes you believe that this is a band that could do anything, and odds are they'll try.

The album is positively wet with luscious sound to the point where it almost transcends the feelings music usually leaves us with. It buzzes and hums like electrical sparks in water puddles. It moves -- if it's possible for music to physically move -- with life and color that so few albums can seem to achieve. The delivery goes from coarse and overt to smooth and subtle, constantly shifting through organic and artificial textures. The music personifies even further as it doesn't tender to wait on us to listen. It pushes forward, holsters our attention, and then retreats into self reflection. It literally feels as though it is a living, breathing thing with a personality and feelings. Something about that heightens the stakes of the album and makes you actually care about the music.

This is something that has been severely lacking in the music world. Sure I'm listening to your record, and I enjoy the hooks and the musical grandeur, but why should I care? Should I care because you ask me to? Should I care because you're the latest and greatest up-and-coming indie band and you have a killer merch table? Lucky for Animal Collective, they are one of the greatest up-and-coming indie bands around, but that's probably for a reason. They make music that's worth caring about. It's obvious they put their hearts and souls into the music because the music itself has a heart and soul. It's not a perfect creation, but then what living today is perfect? If anything, it makes the experience all the more real, and you can almost imagine the music being crafted by three mad scientists in lab coats (and if you've seen Animal Collective live, it aint far from the truth).

I will admit, this isn't exactly an instantly accessible record -- especially if you haven't heard any of the bands' other material. But I think that if you open your mind and your heart to it, and really take it in, Feels has the potential to be a truly wonderful experience for the listener. I mean if nothing else at least it's not some obnoxious Lady Gaga song about muffin tops or whatever.

Now on to the Fall Be Kind EP -- I have a tendency to do this thing where I burn a CD, and since there's just so much space left on most discs, I like to *squeeze* an EP on there to fill the void. And what better mash than Feels + Fall Be Kind EP? It is quite a good combination. If you listen to them back to back, you'd be surprised how well they mesh together. I've even been fooled into thinking there was a sixth song on Fall Be Kind only to realize it was just "Did You See the Words" on my iTunes playlist.

Anyways, the Fall Be Kind EP has so much to offer in such a short amount of time. It makes you wish that this were a full album. Well, what you really wish is that there were a full album release coinciding with this EP. Something I can't stand is when bands make EPs that have nothing more than a few songs from their upcoming album and a few remixes or something. AC is smart here and gives us songs that fit together as cohesively as an album, only shorter. And I doubt that any of these tracks are going to be remixed or rebirthed on Untitled Animal Collective Album (TBA). Which is, needless to say, comforting; realizing that this is a work all its own allows us to treat it as such, and not *just* a smash-in tag-along to Feels, MPP, or Strawberry Jam.

Not that the album necessarily covers more ground than any of the albums. I think more than anything it's a supplementary work to add depth to their already existent catalog. This added depth doesn't just benefit the hardcore fans either. I think anyone new to Animal Collective could easily grab this EP as a starter and immediately know what they're in for. Besides, isn't that the whole point of EPs -- a quick release that gives people an affordable way to give the music a try? Plus with tracks like "Graze" and "Bleed", what a magnificent way to start the Animal Collective journey. You get a really good variety of moods and tones from a very small amount of songs, and yet it still blends and runs together brilliantly. I may be getting ahead of myself, but for my money AC is the best band out there to make their music so deliberately for the benefit of the listener without diminishing upon their craft.

Party Down - Willow Canyon Homeowners Annual Party

Party Down has been cancelled. The show is over. Adam Scott has moved on to Parks and Recreation. Jane Lynch is wrapped up in Glee. There are immensely bigger shows for these actors to move on to. But are they better? I have no idea. What I plan on doing here is finding out what Party Down is worth compared to what I know of these other shows. And while the Starz network isn't really in people's cable heavy rotation, it is heavily carried by Netflix -- affording me the opportunity to watch through both seasons of this very short-lived, summer-filler-type show.

The pilot episode really does a wonderful job setting the tone for what this show is going to be about: Ken Marino is the typical overachieving boss, Ron Donald. He manages a team from the "Party Down" party and catering service. He and his employees dress in "crisp" white button-downs with bright pink bow ties. It's obvious from the first scene that he tries too hard, but also means well. His employees are struggling Hollywood wanna-bes. Adam Scott plays Henry, who is back from an eight year hiatus, after his one hit wonder acting career floundered. Kyle is an actor looking for his big break. Roman is a screenwriter who writes "hard science fiction". Casey is a burgeoning comedian whose marriage is faltering due to her desire to pursue big auditions. Constance is...well, Jane Lynch working for a party and catering service.

The party they've been hired to put on is being thrown by the Willow Canyon Homeowners Association. While the hosts are obviously having marital troubles and are in no mood to host such a function, the Party Down crew blindly try to lift spirits; not out of sympathy, but because it is their job. Ron is out for a winning comment card. Henry is out to impress Casey, who can't even remember his name, but does remember him as being "that guy from the thing". Constance is just one of those ignorant rays of sunshine who brings optimism where optimism should never be brought. She may know the score between the hosting couple, but she obviously chooses to ignore it and keep a smiling face through it all.

One of the strengths of this show is its realism. While some of the events at the party aren't entirely realistic, the mood of the party drastically shifts as the night progresses, going from a normal, well-to-do Homeowners Association get-together into a total train wreck of alcohol-induced shenanigans and hook-ups. The entertainment is boring, and the drinks are kept to a minimum, which does no favors for the guests or hosts. Henry accidentally inspires Gordon, the male host played here by Enrico Colantoni, to go for his dreams. He in turn jumps naked into the family swimming pool, shouting about "ordinary fucking people" (as Roman notes several times throughout the episode, this is a reference to Repo Man). The feud between man and spouse also becomes apparent when Gordon's wife proclaims, "No one wants to see your penis, Gordon. No one."

Meanwhile Kyle and Roman have a feud of their own as Roman fakes a casting call from a director Kyle just auditioned for. Constance plays along, but probably more for her own personal amusement than to insure Roman's prank succeeds. In the end, Kyle winds up with a shaved eyebrow and a thirst for vengeance.

Casey's husband shows up to the party, fueling the fires of tension growing in their marriage. A break-up is almost inevitable to heighten romantic tension between Casey and Henry, but no break-up takes place this episode. It's funny to me though that at one point in the episode, Casey is leaving forever, and then in the next breath she's sticking around. It kind of points her out as either flaky or very impulsive. Or it's just the writers trying to screw with us. If it is just that, I hereby put these writers on notice, because that is one really weak moment of dialogue in an otherwise flawless episode.

A flawless episode that also happens to be freakin' hilarious. The funniest moment is probably the end, after the credits start to roll, of Henry delivering the one and only moment of glory from his acting career -- a catch phrase from a beer commercial. "Are WE having FUN YET?!" he says in character, as a sexually voracious woman from the party is giving him a *hand* in the front seat of his car. There are many other funny gags, especially those that involve Constance trying to liven the mood. I expect this show's humor is right up my alley, and I think that any working class stiff would probably agree with me. Expect more reviews of Season 1 and Season 2 in the coming weeks as I get time to watch more episodes.

The Mountain Goats - We Shall All Be Healed

While perusing the Pop/Rock section at the library, I fiddled my fingers past a great multitude of generic, bland, and oldie records. Along the way I ran past Yellow House by Grizzly Bear, Made in the Dark by Hot Chip, and Sound of Silver by LCD Soundsystem. I thought how odd it was that a mere three years ago I would have thought nothing more of these gems than any of the drab fair of no-names that the lovely Mid-Continent Public Library carries. Now those wonderful diamonds in the rough are what I would consider "heavy rotation". So I decided awhile ago that while the library may carry an overwhelming amount of duds, it's stock of indie rock does occasionally wax brilliant (and, oddly, this includes my contribution of Iron & Wine's Our Endless Numbered Days that I accidentally double-stacked with Beck's Mutations). So when I ran into We Shall All Be Healed by The Mountain Goats, a band I had heard many a good thing about from friends and blogs, I thought, "OK, what the hell."

While I wouldn't go so far as to call the record a "gem", I wouldn't say that the experience of hearing it was a total loss either. There were occasional moments of bliss, but getting to these moments took a great deal of wading through generally uninspired music. The lyrics in the opening two songs are powerful, but the music itself is just bland. The next few songs show great promise, and could be something for a brilliant record to build around, but then the record just reverts back to that banal acoustic guitar chugging. It's not bad music, and a good deal of it is rather catchy, but there's just not much new or fresh about the record to keep me interested.

The lyrical content sounds to me very autobiographical, but at what point does an artist stop and ask, "Are my lyrical themes overbearing what I want to say musically?" There's a whole world of communication available through just the music, and here it appears that John Darnielle has simply chosen to ignore it in favor of his lyrics. And while this may be an okay idea in theory, you'd better be damn sure what you want to say lyrically is actually captivating.

Not that Darnielle's teenage life and times of druggie friends isn't interesting and all. It's just not enough to carry an album's length of time. Some of the rhymes also seemed kind of forced, and again, if the subject matter were just a little bit deeper, I would've felt okay with a few forced rhymes. I mean, artists besides The Mountain Goats have done great things when they focused on lyrics a little heavier than the music. Take for example Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, or mewithoutYou's Catch For Us the Foxes, in which both Jeff Mangum and Aaron Weiss prove that sometimes ideas don't really necessitate gaudy musical numbers or orchestration.

Darnielle's ideas don't necessarily need that either. What he needs is just some good old fashioned musical variety for crying out loud. I have only a basic grasp on The Mountain Goats' discography, but if I were to base an opinion of them around this album alone, I'd say that they're just your average indie band; another fold in an ever-increasing number of sub-par bands that could've been so much more. And I guess that's what I take away most from We Shall All Be Healed: the potential for something greater. Perhaps further investigation of their discography will prove fruitful, but after this experience, that may prove a little difficult for me.

Lost is Over: The End is Here

Well, I only covered a season of this wonderful, sometimes frustrating, sometimes spellbinding show, and now it's over. While I feel rather bittersweet, it is but a television show, and life will continue on as usual. But like a friend leaving town, or the parting of souls, it will always be the good times that I remember most, and the journey that we took together. And what a long, strange trip it's been.

While Lost isn't exactly as valuable to me as my good friendships, the show and I have a bit of a history. It was my freshman year of college, and I was home from school for my Thanksgiving leave. Since I didn't really have any plans, or anyone to see, I decided that I was going to do absolutely nothing with myself besides sit on the couch and vegge out for the entirety of the break. My first day of vegging, since my parents didn't have cable, was looking to be rather boring. But in the morning of that first day, sitting on my parents' coffee table, was a pristine copy of Season 1 of Lost. I had heard of the show before, and seen bits and pieces of the pilot, but hadn't followed it in any detail. So I decided that Season 1 of Lost would be my friend for the break. The day before I left back for school, John and Jack had already opened the hatch, leaving my absolutely breathless and craving more.

The next summer, after the conclusion of Season 2 on TV, I decided that I would purchase it on iTunes so I could watch it and catch up for the season 3 premiere after the summer. I watched episodes much more sparingly over the summer, chugging out about 2-3 episodes a week, sometimes en masse. Since I had all summer to cover everything, I wanted to stretch it out so that I could have a very brief gap between the end of Season 2 and Season 3. And so it was, that on a trip to Memphis, Tennessee, on my trusty, shiny new video iPod, I watched the final 4 episodes of Season 2. I still to this day have not see any of Season 2 on a television quality or sized screen.

Then came Season 3. I began watching it with some of my friends on campus every Wednesday. It became a fast tradition for me because I realized how fun it was to watch the show with other people. Then, I got to join in on Thursday discussions with fans of the show. That thrilled me to no end. Not only do I enjoy talking about TV shows with other people, I love talking about shows that I think matter. So it went for the entirety of Season 3, and so the season ended with the death of many an Other and the beginning of John Locke's ascent to the throne of Other's Leader.

Season 4 was a bit of a oddball season for me. Not only do I not recall many of the circumstances in which I viewed the season, but I also don't even remember that well what all transpired on the show. I thought it was a strong season when I watched it, but in retrospect perhaps this was the weakest season. It was fairly short (a paltry 14 episodes if memory serves me), so perhaps that's why I don't remember it very well. What I do remember is the return of Michael, how Desmond needs a constant, and that six people make it off the island...only to HAVE TO GO BACK!

Then Season 5 started, and I think at this point some of the viewers started abandoning ship, because our heroes began travelling through time. I, however, found this subplot fascinating as it allowed our heroes to see the origins of the Dharma Initiative first hand. The roots of Ben and Charles' need for island dominance was explained a little better, and of course, we had the mysterious return of a not dead John Locke, who we later found out was not John Locke.

Finally, we wound up at Season 6, which introduced a new method of storytelling known forever now as the "flash-sideways". This alternate universe was what would've happened to the island members had the plane not crashed on the island. As events on the island began to come to a head, people in the alternate universe began to realize that their world wasn't exactly what it seemed. As the finale proved, this alternate universe was anything but what we all expected.

So, there was the finale. We gathered in my parents' house, and something about watching the finale where my journey through this show started seemed so surreal. Pizza, Code Red, friends and family all around; as Hurley said, "Feels like old times." And the finale really did feel a lot like Lost of old. As it drew to a close, I felt that "missing it" feeling creep up and I almost cried. The End was exciting, moving, revealing, and all-around a strong finish to a fantastic series. Was it the best it could have possibly been? I'm not really sure. There was a lot of mythology left unanswered and unexplained, but what other time did they have? The important thing left when all is said and done is the characters. The human element will always win out over mysteries needing explained. And I'm pretty content with that.

A lot of people felt that the alternate universe being a purgatory-esque place was a cop-out, but by that logic what wouldn't have been a cop-out? They magically transport back to the island somehow and everyone lives? More over, would any other ending have really worked? They could have ended it differently if they'd had another season maybe. My gut reaction to The End was mild disappointment at first, but after soaking it in and really chewing on it for awhile (I was up for hours afterwards), it felt perfect.

I'll compare it to the end of the Lord of the Rings: After the ring is destroyed, and everyone goes back to their normal lives, what then? The narrative is over, and the main characters have to "move on" from the most important event of their lives. What else is left to tell? They all go back to Hobbiton, save it from Sauroman, Frodo leaves, Sam has kids THE END. I mean what the hell is boating "Into the West" supposed to signify? And no, Lost is no LotR, but the narrative shares similarities. Lord of the Rings was high fantasy with an obvious goal in mind: destroy the ring. Lost was a high fantasy with a not-so-obvious goal: a mix of leave the island, or discover its mysteries, or save the world. Both stories were steeped in lore and magic. But in the end, what were both about? Character. Courage. Good vs. evil. People finding their purpose. Dominic Monaghan, probably also.

Like Lord of the Rings, Lost will always have more it could have told. But no one can argue that it was gripping television from start to finish. It was riveting, touching, gut-wrenching at times, and completely surreal. It was everything a television show was supposed to be and more. As far as dramas go, I would rank it up there with the best of the best. It was a cultural phenomenon.

I cannot wait to watch it all over again.

Lost is On: We're Gonna' Need a Bigger Finale

Okay so, What They Died For was a hugely supplemental episode, in that it supplemented last week by further delving into Jacob's "mistake" of the week previous. It also helps to supplement the finale, by setting us up with big implications (Smoke/Locke doesn't just want to leave, he wants to blow up the island). We saw the deaths (or possible death) of three characters in no time flat, and we saw Jacob passing the grail of protection down to Jack. Things were moving and shaking in the alternate universe as well, as the characters are finally coming together. We're very close to the end, here Hugo, and things are starting to get crazy.

First of all, what's the deal with Ben? Was it not like four or five episodes ago that he was swearing off helping the Smoke Monster? Now he's all "Let's go kill more people" after blowing Charles Widmore to kingdom come. And Richard, who I hope to God is not dead, got launched by the Smoke Monster just minutes before. I expect that if he has to die, they'll at least find him in the jungle and give him a proper, emotional death. I doubt they'd just kill him so hastily without any proper warning, especially after devoting an entire episode to his back-story. Part of me thinks that Richard should die though. It would be a final reprieve from being "Island Advisor"; a reprieve I'm almost certain he would like to have.

Where's Miles going? What part does he have left to play? I'd like to think he still has one, and that he's not just a loose string in the fabric of this narrative; the one character they forgot to kill off once he became useless. But who knows? Maybe his role is more than just main character mitigation. He is, after all, the Dharma Initiative leader's only son. Miles has always been a bit of a mystery to me. Of the team of "experts" sent to the Island by Widmore, he's the only one remaining, even counting Widmore himself. So since he's still alive, wandering through the jungle, he's got to have a part to play in the finale.

Meanwhile, Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley are walking through the jungle boiling for Smoke/Locke's blood. Then Hurley runs into little Jacob, who later leads him to big Jacob. He tells Hugo to gather them all up, because he's going to have a Q&A session with the remaining candidates. While this Q&A answered a lot of nagging questions, like why Kate's name was crossed out, it felt a little too short lived for me. Not that I expected more questions to be answered; it all just felt a little rushed. Not that I blame them for doing it that way. They have a lot of show left to cover, so they might as well put Jack in charge now since we all knew that was going to happen anyways.

The alternate universe came to a head as well, as all of the characters found their ways together through Desmond. He sprung Kate and Sayid out of the slammer via Ana Lucia (nice cameo, b-t-dubs), beat the living crap out of Ben, and through this "message" delivered to Ben, got Locke to visit Jack again. There are still many questions I have as to how the alternate universe is going to shape the real universe. The two will interweave somehow, but only the finale is going to be able to answer how for me. I know a lot of theories are out there, but as I've said before, I'm not a huge fan of speculation. I like to just let this show do its thing and let me soak it in. It's way more fun that way.

As for this finale event of the decade (it's seriously being marketed that way), I hope it's everything we all want it to be. I'm thinking that the last 10 minutes are going to be the most important minutes of the entire series. If they can execute those last few scenes well, then the show is a success, whether or not they answer every question. It's going to be a jaw-dropper either way, I'm sure. They've just built this show up to need that sort of a finale.

I'm going to be posting my thoughts not only on the finale, but also the whole of the series sometime after the finale is over. I'm not really sure when that will be done, because I'm hoping to go into some serious detail: exploring major themes, postulating on any remaining mysteries, character studies, etc. I love this show, and I hate to see it go, so I'm going to spend a good deal of time in order to dive deeper in. Maybe I'll see more of the big picture that way. In any case, Sunday is the day we've all been waiting for, so I hope everyone can kick back, relax and enjoy the show.

See you after The End...

All the Real Girls - Starring Paul Schneider, Zooey Deschanel, Directed by David Gorden Green [8.4]

This movie was not, at all, what I was expecting it would be. Of course, I didn't really know a whole lot about it going in either. But from scene one to scene twenty-whatever, All the Real Girls kept catching me completely off-guard. It's not a perfect movie. In fact, it's not even close to perfect. Sometimes its flaws were as apparent as its more beautiful moments, and sometimes they seemed to walk hand-in-hand. But, this film is too intimate, realistic, funny, and downright honest, for these flaws to seem anything other than human.

I felt a sort of ghost empathy to the main characters, because they lead lives I felt I could have led. Paul and Noel fumble through conversations and dabble with simple affections like any young couple would. They pace their conversations at a normal, human pace. This is not a usual practice in movies - especially romances. Movies have made us to think we must be eloquent poets and perform over-the-top gestures to woo potential significant others. This movie proves that real life isn't like that at all. Real couples don't just spew out perfectly paced expressions of how they feel to each other all the time. They have to sit and think quietly, they say things they don't mean, and expect things left unsaid. Paul and Noel go through all of these things, all the while relenting that they cannot simply read each others' minds. If only things were so simple.

Much of the plot is lost in such ambiguity. While we understand that Paul has been sexually experienced with every girl in town besides Noel, we never really delve too deep as to why he chose to behave that way. Perhaps not even he really knows why. We also kind of get to know Paul's family, but not a whole lot of it is very well understood. We see that his mother is a widower, or perhaps a divorcé, but her character doesn't get much of chance to develop. We meet Paul's probably adopted niece Feng Shui, but like so many characters we don't really get to know her well.

Paul and Noel's chemistry goes from simple and subtle to electric in seconds. Their relationship hits notes both high and low throughout the film. It feels real. These are the kind of screen romances that I really enjoy watching, because we as an audience get to feel both the highs and lows as they really happen. And in real time. So much of their affection is felt in real time, which is rare in most movies, and yet that is how real life always plays out. It doesn't feel overly fantastic, or overly depressing. Everything that Paul and Noel go through is not beyond the reaches of any normal human, both physically and emotionally. None of us are beyond that kind of a connection. That makes everything they do, from laying in a blanket tent to kissing in a hot tub, seem completely real and beautiful.

There's also so much real, human emotion to be had apart from their relationship. Phrases like, "If anyone smiles at me ever again, I'm going to freak out." are diamonds of dialogue sprinkled throughout the film. Quips of obviously improvised dialogue also fly from start to finish. Quirky little sequences take place as well, like Paul racing a fleet of drag cars in his run-down Yugo which he calls his "truck". And Paul dancing in the bowling alley behind Noel is absolutely priceless. It's little scenes like these that give the film such a distinct humor.

The film doesn't so much end as it does part ways with the audience, leaving us to believe that these characters will continue on with their lives. What happens to them is left for the viewer to decide, mostly because none of the characters have decided where they're going yet either. This "ending" could be considered "happy", but we are almost certain that it's much more complicated than that. Isn't real life just as complicated anyways? Do we ever go through a period of our lives that seemingly "ends", or that we can say was completely "happy" or completely "sad"? Nothing is so simple as that, and All the Real Girls seems to be an exploration of that fact. While flawed, the film does what it set out to do, and with the kind of flare and humor rarely seen in modern film.