Movie Review: ‘The Get Together’

Review by James Lindorf

Director Will Bakke’s “The Get Together” is the latest coming of age comedy in the tradition of movies like “Lady Bird,” “Booksmart,” “American Pie,” and “Old School.” A house party is the center of activity for a group of small-town 20 somethings. The party is shown through the eyes of four people on the brink of life-changing decisions. Whether they are moving to a new town, falling in love, losing “the one,” or pursuing a career, one thing is for sure. After tonight their lives will never be the same. Vertical Entertainment is inviting us all to the party when “The Get Together” is released On Demand platforms on May 14th.

The first of our main characters is uber driver August (Courtney Parchman). A recent college grad struggling to find a new job is falling behind her friends financially and mentally. She is loyal and caring, almost to a fault, and experiencing a bit of arrested development. Ignoring the ticking clock of life, she would rather stay home with her best friend McCall (Luxy Banner), pretending they are still living in their dorm. Parchman is great as August; she brings the right energy to the role and feels authentic. The relationship between August and McCall is a bit uncomfortable. August is borderline obsessed with her bestie and is extremely jealous that McCall has other friends with their own inside jokes. The role also suffers from making August the fat friend stereotype. She is loud, underdressed, the only girl close to her size, and clumsy. She is dropping things or falling down throughout the movie. It is a lot of flaws to put on the best performance of the film.

The second segment belongs to young couple Damien (Jacob Artist, Glee) and Betsy (Johanna Braddy, Quantico). Back in town for a secret proposal, the pair is roped into joining the party when they run into a friend from high school. Go Panthers! Though they are a pair, this is easily the least interesting segment of the film. Damien is struggling on just how to propose while being encouraged to hurry it up by his extremely wealthy father. Betsy is trying to adjust to her new life and the relationship that seems to be great. In a moment of self-sabotage, she begins to nitpick at everything about Damien, including how he isn’t a desirable boyfriend because he changes her air filters. Damien’s relationship with fanboy Lucas (Chad Werner) is more interesting than anything going on between him and Betsy. Just like how her most exciting moments are with Caleb, the point of view character of the third and final portion of “The Get Together.”

Caleb is played by Alejandro Rose-Garcia, who may be better known as musical artist Shakey Graves. While no age is given for the character, Caleb seems to be older than the rest of our main characters, especially August. In real life, there is a ten-year age gap between the two actors. With that age comes a different perspective. While August is just setting out, Caleb has been there and questions if it is time for a change. The chance to turn his luck around comes in the form of ex-girlfriend Betsy. If he can win her back, he knows that it means everything will finally go his way. Caleb is the most well-rounded and interesting character, primarily due to him getting the most screen time. He is a part of the other storylines while they are mostly contained to themselves. Caleb is August’s passenger and invites her to the party, setting her showdown with McCall in motion. Then, of course, he is trying to steal Betsy away from Damien, which significantly impacts their story. He is in a bit of a funk but still hopeful, and when he has the chance to do something that could benefit him in multiple ways, he proves that he is a decent person.

“The Get Together” has a ton of promise. Maybe more of that potential would have been realized if many people were not doing multiple jobs. Will Bakke is the director and a co-writer with Michael B. Allen. Chad Werner is an actor and producer, while Ellar Coltrane is the production designer and an actor. Still, “The Get Together” is an above-average independent movie. It tells a story that Millennials and Generation Z should find highly relatable. There is some good imagery, especially how they interweave the three storylines showing us scenes from different angles. Unfortunately, the biggest drawback is the vast majority of the character design and some of the acting. For me, this would be like watching “American Pie,” where every other character is Stifler. Anything good is overwhelmed by the presence of numerous characters that would make you reconsider going to your high school reunion. Good camerawork, the performances of Parchman and Rose-Garcia, and a runtime of only 74 minutes keep the film from falling flat and earns it a 3 out of 5.

Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Director: Will Bakke
Producer: Will Bakke, Jon Michael Simpson, Chad Werner
Writer: Will Bakke, Michael B. Allen
Runtime: 1h 14m
Production Co: One Chameleon Entertainment, Three Hair Productions, Riot Studios