'Damsels in Distress' Review: Whit Stillman's Latest Has Great Lyrics ...

If you?re an ardent fan of a singer whose glory days are now decades behind her, you?ll still go see her in concert even if she isn?t quite hitting those high notes anymore. And if you love the films of Whit Stillman ? the writer-director of ?Metropolitan,? ?Barcelona? and ?The Last Days of Disco,? who hasn?t released a film since 1998 ? you?ll be thrilled to know that he?s finally got a new movie in theaters, even if it doesn?t quite recapture the old magic.

Stillman?s wit is still very much on display in ?Damsels in Distress,? make no mistake about it, but while he still has the words, he doesn?t seem to be quite as much in control of the music.

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Not that it ultimately matters much; no other filmmaker manages to capture the twee daffiness that Stillman accomplishes with such seeming effortlessness, and if you?ve been hankering for his portrayals of head-smart and heart-stupid preppies looking for love, ?Damsels? will definitely scratch that itch.

Transferring to the prestigious Seven Oaks University, sophomore Lily (Analeigh Tipton) finds herself quickly adopted by a trio of busybody do-gooders out to spread their own brand of self-improvement on campus.

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For ringleader Violet (Greta Gerwig) and her lieutenants Rose (Megalyn Echikunwoke) and Heather (Carrie MacLemore), their idea of helping others is to man the campus suicide center (complete with a ?Come on, it?s not that bad!? poster, tap-dance classes and a very strict donut policy) and to socialize with a fraternity whose members are rich, attractive and particularly thick-headed.

These pursuits might seem completely pointless, but then Seven Oaks is the kind of place where grad students attempt to kill themselves by jumping off the roof of a two-story building, and where frat boys admit under duress that they don?t know the names of the colors.

What?s really on everyone?s mind, of course, is love ? although Violet has the additional agenda of trying to launch a national dance craze. (And while writing this, I?m chuckling all over again at her attribution of the Twist to one ?Chubbert Checker.?)?

Violet loses her fella to one of her would-be suicides, while Lily is ardently pursued by white-collar charmer Charlie (Adam Brody), whose every move is dismissed by the hard-bitten Rose as being ?playboy or operator-type.? (Her constant repetition of this phrase renders it side-splittingly hilarious by the end of the film.)

In terms of performance, Stillman?s dialogue ? Violet is prone to statements like ?I think we should learn as many clich?s and hackneyed statements as possible? and ?I?d like to thank you for this chastisement? ? resembles the songs of Cole Porter and Stephen Sondheim; the actor has to take a mouthful of verbiage and utter it in the most effortless way possible.

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Tags: Adam Brody, Alonso Duralde, Annaleigh Tipton, Billy Magnussen, Carrie MacLemore, Damsels in Distress, Greta Gerwig, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Movies, reviews, Whit Stillman

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