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Lou Taylor Pucci, Zooey Deschanel, Jena Malone, William Lee Scott, Nick Offerman ... see more see more... , Judy Greer , Julio Oscar Mechoso , Jsu Garcia , Colin Fickes , Maura Tierney , Bill Duke

For the follow-up to his feature debut, 1999's The Big Split, filmmaker Martin Hynes took on this bittersweet road movie about a teenager responding to the untimely death of his mother. Overcome with ... read more read more...grief that he's unequipped to deal with, Mercer (Lou Taylor Pucci) decides to steal a car and hit the open road. Along the way, he discovers himself with the help of a seductress (Jena Malone) and the owner of the car (Zooey Deschanel). The Go-Getter had its premiere at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Flixster Users

63% liked it

3,449 ratings

Critics

40% liked it

25 critics

R, 1 hr. 33 min.

Directed by: Martin Hynes

Release Date: June 6, 2008

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DVD Release Date: October 21, 2008

Stats: 369 reviews

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Zooey Deschanel Riding along. The Go-Getter The Go-Getter
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Flixster Reviews (369)

  • fb1672039553
    January 5, 2012
    fb1672039553
    Manifesting the spirit of indie music (almost exclusively M. Ward, who appears on screen early on and also began his "She and Him" music collaboration with Zooey Deschanel after they met during filming), this movie wants to be sloppy and include an individual's smaller moments an... read mored dialogue because it's more real and intimate than exclusively polished, succinct scenes that methodically push a plot forward. The writer/director didn't really know his characters though, and so this movie felt so forced and fake that the individuals were unbelievable and unrecognizable as humans. 60 minutes in, I started wondering if this was just a vehicle for M. Ward songs.
  • LWOODS04
    September 22, 2011
    LWOODS04
    Cast: Lou Taylor Pucci, Zooey Deschanel, Jena Malone, Maura Tierney, William Lee Scott, Bill Duke, Giuseppe Andrews, Kathleen M. Darcy, John Anthony Delgado, Judy Greer, Jsu Garcia, Nick Offerman, M. Ward

    Director: Martin Hynes

    Summary: After the death of his mother, 19-y... read moreear-old Mercer (Lou Taylor Pucci) steals a car and sets out to find his long-lost half brother. As he steers out of town, the car's owner, Kate (Zooey Deschanel), calls the cell phone left inside, but she's oddly empathetic to Mercer's plight. They develop an unusual bond over the course of Mercer's journey, which includes memorable encounters with characters played by Jena Malone, Judy Greer and Maura Tierney.

    My Thoughts: "I love most Indie films. Some are hits and some just miss it. This movie unfortunately for me was a miss. I love Zooey and Jena's acting and thought this was going to be really good. It was very slow pace moving. It only got a bit interesting when Zooey's character shows up. Besides then, it was quite boring.. It was a short movie but yet it felt like it was never going to end. I found myself looking at the clock to make sure hours hadn't passed by. But the highlights are that it was well acted. It was my first time seeing Lou Taylor Pucci in a film and I liked his acting very much. Its not something I would watch again but just for the acting I would reccomend people see it.
  • stevenecarrier
    May 14, 2011
    stevenecarrier
    Against it's own self sabotage, I enjoyed "The Go-Getter." The film never really goes anywhere in terms of plot (which is odd since it's a road movie) but it's the quieter moments that make it bearable. Nice performances from Lou Taylor Pucci, Zooey Deschanel, Jena Malone and a p... read morelethora of small side characters, this is a light, sometimes emotional, sometimes dumb coming of age film. It may be extremely 'indie' but it has it's moments.
  • dreamfaeries
    August 29, 2010
    dreamfaeries
    Kind of in the middle about liking and disliking. The cast was great along with the storyline, yet it failed to deliver the way it could have. Zooey = AMAZING! And even though through the first half all you get is her voice, she really brings the film to life. Lou was stinkin... read more' adorable...
  • neverteaseaweasel
    June 16, 2010
    neverteaseaweasel
    I swear, I loved literally everything about this movie: the story, the characters, the dialog, the ideas. It's all great. Lou Pucci and Zooey Deschanel complement each other just as nicely as the latter with Joseph Gordon-Levitt in (500) Days of Summer. In a lot of ways they play... read more the same character, only one plays the agressor and one is rather passive. These roles change from situation to situations. They both have different strengths, different flaws; but at their inner core, they are the same type of quirky, charming people. This is one of the most uplifting things I have seen in quite a while. It simply made me happy, and I really am not totally sure what to accredit it to. The story sort of reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. Mercer bounces from one distracting and irritating character to another. Only, unlike Alice, he has Kate as a sort of guideiing light. I suppose all road trip stories are more or less like that. Regardless, it's something that works incredibly well.
  • 5oclockcoffee
    January 17, 2010
    5oclockcoffee
    I liked it a lot and I´m not a huge fan of road trip movies.

    * A reference to Godard: the dance scene of "Bande à part" with Kate/Zooey as Odile, Joely/Jena Malone probably as Arthur and Mercer/Pucci as Franz.
    **"I make them nervous. If you don't watch enough TV, you make p... read moreeople nervous".


  • romy861
    December 9, 2009
    romy861
    Not the greatest movie ever, but not awful. It's main problem is that it moves very slowly and, though all the actors are good, bits of this just don't ring true. There are some interesting little bits in this and I mostly enjoyed it, but I can see why a lot of people wouldn't. ... read more Couldn't recommend anyone to go and rent it, but if it's on tv, check it out.
  • ythelastman89
    November 17, 2009
    ythelastman89
    A really great coming of age type story that was actually original. and Lou Taylor Pucci did a great job of coming off as a real person and not a stereotyped angsty teenager that often comes with roles like these. Zooey Deschanel was great with her role as well, I got a real sens... read moree of honesty with her character. The storytelling is fun and gives you a real feel of what it's like to be on the road. I loved the M. Ward soundtrack as well, just a great addition to the film.
  • lewiskendell
    April 21, 2009
    lewiskendell
    Most indie movies that I have seen are either remarkably good or boring beyond belief. The Go-Getter lies between these two extremes, and thankfully it's closer to good than boring.

    I'll freely admit that I wanted to see this because Zooey D. is in it, and most of the time I was... read more watching it impatient for when she would finally show up in person. The Go-Getter is sorta like a one-man road trip mixed with a coming of age movie. The story is a little sad, and it doesn't take long to really empathize with and root for the main character, Mercer.

    If the movie would have had more Zooey D. and it didn't lose a bit of its narrative focus at the end, it would have earned a stronger rating from me. But The Go-Getter is definitely worth seeing if you're a fan of this type of film festival product. It's not among the best of them, but it's nowhere near the worst.
  • gator681
    July 9, 2009
    gator681
    In "The Go-Getter," Mercer(Lou Taylor Pucci), a 19-year old high school senior, who intstead of going to first period English, decides to steal a car from a local car wash to take a break from Eugene, Oregon, 8 1/2 months after his mother died. Shortly after he leaves town, a ce... read morell phone rings in the car and he does the responsible thing and pulls over.(Well, it has more to do with him being freaked out.) What is even more surprising is that Kate(Zooey Deschanel), the car's owner, is not angry, just curious as to where Mercer is headed which is in search of his half-brother Arlen who he has not seen since he was five to tell him about their mother dying. The first stop of Northern California is unproductive since Arlen has long since moved on to Reno. That gives Mercer the idea of picking up Joely(Jena Malone), who he was friends with back in middle school, in nearby Fallon.

    "The Go-Getter" is an offbeat coming of age movie about what it means to travel with a keen eye for detail. For the first time, Mercer is encountering different people and seeing how old friends have changed while developing a thicker skin but hopefully not losing his sensitivity at the same time. As a young man, he makes his fair share of mistakes which is the time to make them, not when he is older. One mistake he does not make is expressed well in the process of getting to know Kate who lives precariously through him. Since a lot of the movie depends on what you think of her reaction and explanation, then it is definitely good that Zooey Deschanel's winning presence shines through even when she is little more than a disembodied presence. The only drawback is we know what Kate looks like long before Mercer does.

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Critic Reviews

Peter Howell
October 18, 2008
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

The transition from the slopes of Sundance to the hard streets of everywhere else is the artistic equivalent of the bends. Full Review

Owen Gleiberman
June 13, 2008
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

The first road movie that could fit into the mumblecore genre of dithering youth angst: The Go-Getter travels, but it doesn't go anywhere. Full Review

Peter Travers
June 11, 2008
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Director-writer Martin Hynes shapes his first movie into something emotionally truthful, painfully funny and vibrantly alive.

Frank Scheck
June 10, 2008
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter

Strives for hipness but ultimately just feels contrived and derivative.

Carina Chocano
June 6, 2008
Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times

There are moments of beauty here, but not enough to make up for the mannered dialogue and hamstrung performances. Full Review

Stephen Holden
June 6, 2008
Stephen Holden, New York Times

Much of the dialogue is so quirky it sounds overheard instead of scripted. The performances are correspondingly spontaneous.

Rick Groen
June 6, 2008
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

A fairly well-made picture that's just been fairly well-made too many times before, a knock-off of a thousand other knock-offs. Full Review

Aaron Hillis
June 4, 2008
Aaron Hillis, Village Voice

If you can look past writer-director Martin Hynes's familiar fest formula, his film modestly rewards with gorgeous sun-spotted cinematography, tender digressions in rather brave quantities, and believ... Full Review

David Edelstein
June 2, 2008
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

Martin Hynes's first film, The Go-Getter, is an especially wonderful addition to the [road movie] genre, with the right -- flickering -- mixture of loneliness and enchantment, and with jokes that come... Full Review

Todd McCarthy
January 25, 2007
Todd McCarthy, Variety

Writer-director Martin Hynes takes advantage of the vast possibilities of the open road and what can only be refashioned personal experience to invigorate The Go-Getter, an unusually fresh-feeling ind... Full Review

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  • ****NAME THIS MOVIE**** A young go-getter named Andrea is elated to get a gig as a second assistant to the editor-in-chief of Runway Magazine. However, her ruthless boss, Miranda Priestly, quickly turns her dream job into a nightmare.  Answer »
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