thesar-2 I thought I was in the presence of another well-written, cute, heartfelt, deep indie with great music and performances when two minutes into the film, an awesome teacher releases the line: "Don't add homophobe to idiot, Valchek. People already don't like you."Sadly, I was wrong.What I was hoping for was another Little Miss Sunshine, The Way, Way Back or The Perks of Being a Wallflower. What I got was a writer/director who probably saw those, maybe more of the like and thought he could recreate their magic. He did not. Hell, even that teacher I loved upfront bailed on him early on with no resolve or more depth.Okay, backing up. It's not a bad film. It has another great Mickey Rourke performance, a wonderful secondary star with Emma Roberts and the film is well shot and professionally done. It does, in fact, have a good (not great) soundtrack and is successful at mimicking the aforementioned films.But, the most problems arise with the lead: Nat Wolff as Ed. Ed's supposed to be this brilliant up and coming 17-year-old High School student who opposes his own generation and yearns for deeper and smarter people. He does not accomplish this. He is almost an exact replica of those he looks down upon. Additionally, as smart (mouthed) as he is, he's fairly dumb at times. Maybe he's supposed to be like today's generation of the kids that I rarely make contact with, but what I was given in the opening third or so, he was meant to be thoughtful and three steps ahead of everyone else. This did not turn out like that. He simply became a caricature of himself. Not to mention really annoying at times.Further, the film was wildly predictable and the many subplots were opened and never resolved. Forgotten, perhaps. The mother's was left hanging. The jocks and scholarships vanish like the disappearing Daddy. And the awesome teacher I mentioned…maybe the actor's salary was too high and they could only afford to shoot him in one day. Sure, there was a kind of a direct line in the story for the neighbor, a grumpy old man who is dying, has a past and given a short future. And there's our "hero," Ed, who kinda wants to succeed, but also join the football team just to prove something. I am still trying to find out what that is. The heart's in the right place, but it needed a couple more rewrites to nail it. More needed to be fleshed out and some toned back or even cut. I would recommend it, as it's harmless, but I absolutely recommend the similar films listed above first.***Final thoughts: Sure I spoiled a bunch above – I did warn yah! – but one thing I couldn't get past: the boy, or Ed, was an accomplice…to be as broad as I can be. Of course, he didn't start off as one and maybe the government would want to silence him for knowing too much, but he's still doing the wrong thing and is unredeemable in the end. That, my friend, is our "hero" here. We're supposed to back him. I did not.

aleisia-detch314 The character Ed was drawn out through the film. Rather than a gradual formation of confidence, the character was entirely on the fence. His intelligence greatly surpassed his ability to connect with people and understand their feelings - this changes near the end as events become more serious and he obviously learns some life lessons from Ashby. Aside from this typical series of events, the character Ashby had a lot to offer to the film, but it seemed too rushed for any in-depth progression. Regardless, Rourke's acting is entirely convincing and heartfelt, taking you into the life of someone who has done wrong but with good intentions. Also, beyond the cliché high school scenes, there was an interesting perspective by the director that played out as it went beyond the typical jock-hierarchy and parties to something more systematic. However it did not shy away from the stereotypical high school drama - just not to the extent that the film would feel like your average high school movie.

Kevin Lea Davies 'Ashby' is yet another film lacking any sort of direction, structure, and storytelling. Is it a character film, a teen drama, or redemption story... perhaps all three? Tony McNamara brings a lot of different ideas into a script that lacks anything important to say at all.Mickey Rourke portrays the titular character Ashby, a former CIA assassin who has killed for his government because quote; "That was my job... sigh..." I suppose as a younger man he must have been a patriot and a soldier, but all that has changed over time, when he has his first heart attack and finds out he has very little time to live. His neighbor (Nat Wolff), a rather bland teenager who just moved into town with his single mom (an equally bland Sara Silverman), asks Ashby if he can write an essay about him... because quote; "You're old." And so the film unfolds at a slow and steady pace with nothing really to offer the viewer and focuses solely on a teenager who literally has nothing to complain about, yet still finds the time and energy to do so.What really upset me about this movie's direction and writing, isn't the awful story line itself, but the real lack of any message for the viewer. Outside of Micky Rouke's character coming to terms with who he was and the horrible things he'd done during his career, every single character in this movie is exactly the same at the end, as when it started out. The idea of an assassin seeking redemption through a kid writing a high school essay is laughable at the least, but putting up with the most annoying teenager in the world, makes me literally weep for future generations of screenwriters and directors. It's predictable at most times, ablaze with platitudes, and lacks anything worth watching for an hour and forty five minutes.This movie has absolutely nothing to teach anyone except that murder can be part of a geek coming to age film. He also becomes an accessory to murder, but hey... that's fine if you're friends right? I wish I could get my time back.4/10

selena-71096 This movie is bad. Really bad. The story is such a nonsense and absurdous at times. Cliché after cliché. The high school football drama and "love" story are nauseating. The acting is really bad, except Mickey Rourke.I mean, every single actor in this movie put out a dismal performance including Nat Wolff. Ed's character is so unlikable and annoying that I wanted to stop watching several times. I have not seen Nat Wolff before, but in this movie he was unbelievably bad. Absolutely no chemistry between Ed and Ashby. The priest' and mother' characters are either a joke or insults to one's intelligence. The funeral scene in the end of the movie completed its awfulness. Mickey Rourke was the only reason I finished watching this movie. His acting was great. But he did not save this peace of crap.