According to Greta (2009)

Simply Perfect

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This may not be a very long review but I think it is one worth reading. Everyone is saying how it is good acting but I am insulted! Overall it is a good film but as a teenager myself who is suffering from depression and suicidal thought myself, I feel that this film has portrayed this type of person completely wrong! I am in almost the same situation as Greta but I am disgusted by the way that chose to act out her role! If she really was suicidal she would not be telling everyone like that! She would be hiding it inside and killing herself quietly! She would show more signs of depression like food disorders, or even just depression! I cannot bring myself to understand how someone who was suffering from such a severe illness would then be able to throw it all away at the end and just be 'fine'!

This is a profile of an 'outta control' teenaged girl who is such a nightmare that nobody can stand her. She is called Greta, hence the title of the film (which in America has been released both as GRETA and as ACCORDING TO GRETA), but in Britain the film was released as SURVIVING SUMMER. Greta is meant to be 17, but she is played by Hilary Duff aged 22 at the time, and although Duff manages all the mannerisms, self-pitying voice-whine, and body language OK, her face just looks too old for 17. Never mind, it's a movie. Nightmarish teenagers have been portrayed on the screen before, but rarely has such a total nightmare as Greta been seen. We eventually learn some background, and discover that her father died in Viet Nam when she was six (it seems therefore that the action of this film is meant to be set in about 1980), and because her mother is such a narcissistic nutter, she has never even been shown a photo of him. So one of her many problems is that 'she needs to be loved' and is searching for a father but is too proud to admit it. (Meanwhile the mother is trying to work out her relationship with the man whom Greta calls 'husband number nine'.) However, the world is full of girls who need to be loved, have lost their fathers and have crazy mothers, but they aren't all as wild and impossible as Greta. While the mother sorts herself out (an impossible task in itself), Greta is dumped for the summer with her maternal grandparents, played to perfection by Ellen Burstyn and Michael Murphy. They live in one of the only two decent resort towns on the New Jersey shore, namely the northern one, Ocean Grove (the southern one being Cape May of course). They live a very tranquil summer existence in one of those genteel, rambling Victorian chocolate box houses. Suddenly dynamite blows up in their faces, by way of the granddaughter Greta's unwelcome arrival. She strides in, sulking and rude, sprawls on the sofa with a remote in her hand and whines that they do not have cable TV so that she cannot watch her reality shows. It gets worse and worse and worse. At first we think no one will survive summer, and indeed Ellen Burstyn does have a heart attack from the stress caused. Greta is so obnoxious, revolting, and horrible that it is impossible to feel any sympathy for her, and countless viewers must have wished she could be humanely put down. However, the story is of the progressive taming of the wild kid. The film is very well made, and I guess Greta, the poor thing, is worth a bit of sympathy at the end because she is not really a bad person, she is just a crazy mixed-up kid who is more extreme in her disorders than most. To her credit, she refuses to take the tranquilizers which have been prescribed for her. (Never take one of those!) As a human tornado, wreaking damage on all sides, Hilary Duff is entirely convincing, so much so in fact that I would hate to run into her in a dark alley anywhere. I suppose the film is all about learning compassion. There is a very sensitive and excellent performance by the young actor Evan Ross of a boy who tries to understand Greta and is fond of her. As the saying goes, he 'has his work cut out for him'. The film is directed by Nancy Bardawil and is her only feature so far. She shows not only considerable directorial ability but a great deal of courage in taking on a project as challenging as this. Michael Gilvary wrote a very convincing screenplay. But anybody thinking of spending the summer at Ocean Grove had better watch out, and above all avoid any sulky young girls, as they might be the terrifying Greta!

I have a lot of movies about which I can say "This film is really good! Excellent! One of my favorites". But if somebody ask me what is the best movie for me of the best, about the movie, without which I can't live, I will answer - "Greta". I watched it in November 2009 and every week I am watching it. Since that date. Because I can't imagine myself without "Greta". I knew about it because of one of my favorite actresses- Hilary Duff. She is definitely one of the best actresses (for me), because I like the way she acts. It is a story of Greta, whose mother is again "trying to save her marriage number nine", and she have to spend her whole summer in Jersey. Isn't Siberia the place they send you to die? And from her experience Ocean Groove isn't that much different. She will spend her summer with grandmother and grandfather, in their mausoleum, where it always smells like dessicated socks. She is always alone. She is rebellious. And she wants to die. She has her "To-die list" and "To-do list". This summer will show her what a real life means. Hilary Duff is awesome. This movie is like "Georgia Rule" starring Lindsay Lohan - I also like this film. Hilary plays very good by emotions and voice. Nobody can act like she does. I believed her, I believed Greta.Her partner Evan Ross was also very good at his role - romantic, prudent, charming... I saw pain in his eyes, love and forgiveness.This movie is an incredible one. I can't live without it. I need it. I fell it. Every moment. "Greta" is for lovers. "Greta" is for me.

I started with little hope for this movie except for it to kindly fill 90 minutes of my time and let me enjoy some mindless time-out. It definitely accomplished this, though, unusually, it's left me with some points of interest worth raising.I found Greta's serious desire to prevent herself from growing old and to off herself once her fun time is up very interesting and captivating. However, much like her offbeat, rough character traits, it seemed to have been dismissed too easily in the end. I would've much preferred some more development on her character and her relationships and maybe some deeper explanation to her than the 'my father did this' excuse. Why did it not turn her off suicide? She says she wants to kill herself so she can avoid the boring, annoying events of life that come with ageing, yet is this why her father shot himself? I don't think there's a connection (unless I've forgotten a plot point already.) It would be wrong to say this movie was about her relationship with Julie, and though, I personally had more interest in Greta's relationship with her grandparents, I found his character just lovely and warm and very endearing. However, I am puzzled as to why the 3 supporting characters just let Greta carry on the way she did. Yes, the neighbour and her mother went about it the wrong way, but there should have been MORE standing up to her. Her behaviour was atrocious and I felt there was no real redemption for it from the other characters. Why did they even want her around? I certainly wouldn't have wanted any more of her after one conversation.Maybe it was okay that there was no answer to the Greta and Julie question -- I don't mind open endings for some parts, but there still has to be resolution, and I think Julie gave her that.While this movie was enjoyable and definitely a big step up for Duff, I feel there was just not enough to make it 'great'. Comparisons to a mix of Georgia Rule and Juno are not off base.