Gabi on the Roof in July (2010)

As Good As It Gets

Admirable film.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Gabi is a horny little chick that shows up in NYC and stays with her brother while he's doing something called 'art'. She tumbles in bed with - well - her brother's friends. There's the usual drinking, drugs, partying, sex, etc. Nothing of any substance seems to happen in this story. Brother & sister have usual love/hate relationship.Gabi puts everyone on edge. There are money problems. All the characters eat, chat, drink, sex, drink. Nothing happens. Gabi gets ticked-off. Her brother Sam gets ticked-off. Everybody gets ticked-off. Then all is well at end.If you like a non-story brief look into the lives of people who like to party, drop their clothes, drink, and talk about mostly nothing, then I guess this is your flick. Frankly I found the whole thing a bit circular and wrapped in a big 'so what'.Good luck if you choose to watch it. I only watched it because the title caught my eye.

It was difficult to watch. I generally appreciate movies that show odd perspectives. This movie was not only pointless but offensive. In what modern society does a twenty-year old virgin walk naked around her brother and his friends? If there is such a place, incestuous couples should buy real estate, yes? Thankfully, my brother would have beat the stuffing out of me before beating the stuffing out of his friend. As enlightened as these characters pretended to be, the conservatism and/or hypocrisy dripped with pathetic irony. The sister was not petulant as has been characterized elsewhere. She was an infantile trouble maker whose grasp of relationships familial or otherwise was personified in the paralyzed hamster. Brother-sister portrayals like this make me wonder about modern sexual boundaries. Some things are just not done and this movie was impossible to embrace as worthy of the independent movie genre.

I caught the screening for this film at the Chesapeake Film Festival in Easton, Maryland. It was about a 20 year old girl, Gabi, who goes to visit her brother on summer break. She is free-spirited and loves flashing her brother Sam to make him uncomfortable. Both her and Sam get into love complications that shake things up.I am a 26 year old lady and found this movie hilarious. It had me loudly laughing through the entire film. Even though the characters are right around my age, I think many people could relate to the breaking down of innocence as we come of age. We were all idiots who made stupid mistakes.This movie was vulgar with lots of nudity and sex humor - so if you can handle that, it is fantastic. It made me reflect on all the horrible Hollywood romantic comedies I've wasted my time watching - like Marley and Me or Couples Retreat. This film was real people being themselves, the naked truth. If you have the chance, I highly recommend this film. Watch it through Gabi's eyes, free and joyful.

This was definitely the strongest independent film I've seen in a while. The performances, particularly Gabi and Sam, were amazing, incredibly natural and dynamic. What was really fresh and exciting about this film was how well it balanced a sense of authenticity with masterful storytelling. What I find problematic about much of the current trend of post-collegiate naturalism is that the plots often drag. That's definitely NOT the case with this film, which has an intricate, but unforced, plot. I highly recommend seeing this film to anybody with an interest in independent, literate cinema. Certainly, fans of Cassavetes, Eric Rohmer, or Woody Allen would find something to enjoy in this thoroughly engaging, thought provoking, incredible little film!