I'm not sure why this movie didn't turn out better - it had a great cast and a good storyline. Dealing with what happens after you graduate from college and before your adult life begins is a tricky time period. This movie half heartedly addressed this along with other issues, the other half went for cute romance. The end result? It was too all over the place and ended up a slightly less then average movie.

I liked all of the characters except for the cheesy south american soccer player across the street but hey, his type exists. The female lead (Ryden) is part of a goofy but lovable family of self titled losers: Michale Keaton was the father full of losing money propositions, the mother was low key and the younger oddball brother was cute but the family star was Carol Burnett as the wacky grandmother. Enter the love interest who has been Ryden's best buddy all through college but would like to be more. I'll sum up the movie for you: guy follows girl around like a puppy even after he is kicked a few times, gets mad and goes away, girl realizes what she had and runs after him - the end.

Given all the talent you would think that the movie would work but it falls apart despite some good scenes (anything with Carol Burnett or the derby race). Perhaps different editing would have made all the difference? I cannot recommend this movie unless you are die hard fans of the actors.

"The Show That Almost Wasn't."
That's the most surprising lesson learned about the nature of television production -- as told by the show's creator Amy Sherman-Palladino -- in the WB's stellar GILMORE GIRLS release: Ms. S-P had pitched a variety of programs for WB executives, and, when they asked for more, she made up an idea on the spot -- with no preparation or background detail -- which the executives took! Then, Ms. S-P had to go and create it.
GILMORE GIRLS arguably stands as a benchmark in television history. In some ways, the program is like SEINFELD: if you don't get it, you won't get it. In other ways, it's a high quality Hallmark Channel movie-of-the-week, currently stretching out beyond its fourth season and soon to be entering its fifth. Still, in more ways, there's absolutely nothing else like it on television.
GG is far more than just the story of Lorelai Gilmore and her daughter, Lorelai "Rory" Gilmore: it's the story of the fictional town known as Star's Hollow -- the dreamland for bed-n-breakfast businesses -- and the odd assortment of characters who happen to live, work, and breathe there. While the centerpiece is clearly the Gilmore family -- a contemporization of the BRADY BUNCH, if there could ever be such a thing -- the spin of the show is, to its benefit, the plethora of wonderfully imagined and uniquely quirky townsfolk who populate the secondary storylines.
And, yes, the acting is top notch. The direction is absolutely superb. The writing is, by far, some of the most deserving work being put up on the boob tube today.
Still, GG is on the WB, meaning that it will, more than likely, never find the kind of ratings the show deserves. Like STAR TREK, GILMORE will find its true financial potential in syndication and DVD releases ... much like this current release of the 21 1st season episodes.
To my delight, I'm just discovered these television characters. My wife has watched the show since the beginning, but I always dismissed it as a "chick flick," tuning it out to spend my time on other shows. However, she convinced me to give it a chance this past season (its fourth), and now -- here am I -- writing a review for Season 1 that we watched together virtually non-stop. Others here have raved about the quality of the writing -- the true lifeblood of the program -- and I wouldn't even attempt to do GILMORE a disservice in discussing it other than to add "every good thing that's been said here is absolutely not enough to sanctify how well, apparently, every episode is written."
Honestly, GILMORE is really that good.
Truth be told, the extras are surprisingly thin -- but of good quality -- on this 1st season release, especially considering the fact that the show is currently in production for the WB. Disc 6 includes a handful of deleted scenes; a mini-doc with some revealing insights from the show's creator, cast, and crew; and some scenes from various episodes edited together in a piece that tries to capture the 'essence' of what makes GILMORE GIRLS as remarkable a television achievement as it is. One would think that Warner Brothers would've offered more -- in-depth interviews with the series cast OR, minimally, an audio commentary or two -- but, sadly, that isn't the case. As a result, one could argue that the studio -- as Amy Sherman-Palladino points out in the scant 30 minute documentary -- has underestimated the intelligence of its audience, focusing only on the commercialism of the program and not feeding the fanbase brain.
The 6-disc set is presented in full screen format. The video quality is excellent. The sound quality is excellent (there are a handful of scenes that are hard to hear b/c of verbal pacing, not production issues). Overall, this is one great package only lessened by what they chose not to provide: audio commentaries.

I want to preface this review by saying this: I envy each and every person that will forever be able to pick up this set and experience the magic, whimsy, and zanyness of the Gilmore Girls fresh and anew for the first time.

`Gilmore Girls' which ran from 2001-2007 on the WB and CW networks is a show that is simply about a mother and daughter. But it goes so much further than that. This particular mother/daughter combo are best friends and separated in age by a mere 16 years. Yet, more than the interactions between Lorelai and her daughter Rory, typically the zany towns-people are the characters that steal the show. Their incredibly charm, matched with `the Gilmore Girls' wit, all set within the picture-perfect New England town of Stars Hollow, makes "Gilmore Girls" seem almost like a story book fantasy.

The series begins with Lorelai reluctantly starting to rebuild her relationship with her waspy high-society parents, after they agree to fund Rory's private school education. Throughout the seven seasons the audience watches as Lorelai relationship with her parents start to blossom, as well as the bond that forever strengthens between her and her own daughter, Rory. Lorelai was raised as a princess, but always hated her parents for the rules that society put upon her - hence why she ran away from home when she was 16 and pregnant. Throughout the years as well, the audience watches as Rory grows from an innocent and naïve 15-year-old girl, into a mature and seasoned 22-year-old college graduate.

It's impossible to put into words just how magical this show really is. And it is not the perpetual `chick-flick' that many write-it off as. It is infact probably one of the smartest and best written television shows to grace the small-screen in recent years. One would need several PH D.s in Popular Culture to get even 80% of the refrences that these girls throw around. And beyond that the performances of the actors makes this show something special. And, although the show started as a drama, the humor was always present and by the middle of season one the glimpses of the great comedy to come started to make themselves known.

My review my sound like a very proud grand-parent raving about their grandchild, but that shows the love I have for this magical series. I watched from the very first episode at 14 years-old with my best friend until the series finale in my apartment during my sophomore year of college (with the same friend by my side, traveling 700 miles so we could watch it together). I have loved every moment, and will buy this set in a heartbeat.

This DVD set includes all 153 episodes on 42 DVDs in their original full-frame broadcast video with Dolby Surround Sound. Special Features include a "Welcome to the Gilmore Girls" documentary, deleted scenes from select episodes, pop-culture montages, a `gilmoreism' book, commentary on "I Jump, you Jump Jack" by series creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino, as well as several `behind-the-scenes' featurettes.

I think both of these movies portray a great story about friendship and family values. Both of these movies, as well as the books, do a great job giving us an insight of the issues many young women face on a daily basis. I would recommend showing this movie to any young person, both young men and young women.

First of all, this movie seems to be billed as some kind of romantic comedy starring Alexis Bledel. It isn't. Rather, it is a character study focusing on narrator / protagonist Tommy (Scott Porter), a charismatic but manipulative Wall Street trader. Secondary focus is placed on his girlfriend Beth (Bledel) and his awkward protege Daniel (Bryan Greenberg) as they try to figure out their place in this Type-A dominated world. The goal is not necessarily to like any of the three characters, just to understand them.

The plot itself is pretty simple but the writer/director compensated by making every attempt to come across as believable and authentic as possible. Usually this hits the mark, but not always. Most of the locations such as offices, apartments, and bars are spot-on and I found most of the dialog and interplay quite believable. On the flip side, while I believe that Alexis Bledel could live in NYC for a while and never have heard of The Cloisters, I find it unfathomable that Beth, an anthropologist, would not. This is a pretty big oversight considering how important a role the excursion to The Cloisters has in establishing Tommy's ability to sweep Beth of her feet. Along these lines, I think the writing went a little too far with the foreshadowing. For example, comparing a book club book to the story itself smacks of trying too hard to be clever.

This leaves the acting. I thought the casting and performances were excellent, with all of the characters fitting the bill perfectly, no matter how minor. This is what I appreciated most about the film - the glimpse into these people's lives provided by the portrayals. They were serious when they mean to be serious, funny when it is meant to be funny, and it all felt genuine. There isn't enough to it to consider a 5* rating, but I believe it is successful in achieving what it sets out to do.