Lola (Greta Gerwig) is on top of the world, she is half way through her dissertation on "Silence in 19th Century French Literature" and recently engaged with her hot beau Luke (Joel Kinnaman) on her twenty ninth birthday. Like most often is true in life, if things are too good to be true they usually are and she the swept into a down spin spiral as her plans don't quite turn out like she had planned in her fairy tale life. This witty, cute, and sensitive tale takes in the odyssey of one woman as she presses forward as she lives her turbulent twenties into her confident thirties where she can take charge and realizes that she can be still be a sex kitten with the confidences of a tamed lioness. Directed by Daryl Welin and opens on June 15, Lola Versus is a fun adventure. by Dr. Wilson Trivino

If traditional Hollywood romantic comedies are like pop rock, then "Lola Versus" is the equivalent to alternative. Although it has the same basic sensibilities and is generally just as implausible as more mainstream fare, it explores its characters and themes in a quirkier, less soppy way. In terms of plot, we can make out the basic trajectory, but there are times when it deviates from the path, specifically when it comes to the satisfying but not necessarily happy ending. It's a refreshing approach and a welcome change of pace. All the same, I must admit that I personally prefer more Hollywood-style romcoms, simply because they usually work harder at getting the audience to feel good, if only for about an hour and a half. Yes, there are those of us that are perfectly content with pop.Taking place in New York City, the film depicts one year in the life of a literature grad student named Lola (Greta Gerwig), beginning on her twenty-ninth birthday with a voice-over narration and a dream sequence in which personal effects such as shoes, handbags, and vibrators wash up by the hundreds on a beach. When she awakens, her longtime boyfriend, an artist named Luke (Joel Kinnaman), proposes to her. Then, only weeks before the wedding, he calls off the engagement. A heartbroken and hopelessly confused Lola moves into her old apartment, which, in a cruel twist of fate, was being rented by a young woman who has just gotten engaged. Lola turns to her best friend, a fringe theater actress named Alice (Zoe Lister-Jones, also the co-writer and one of the executive producers), for advice and support. She also has to content with her well-meaning but misguided parents (Debra Winger and Bull Pullman). Her father still adheres to free love ideals that went out of fashion forty years ago.Lola will eventually cross a line with her other friend, a singer named Henry (Hamish Linklater), a complication made worse by the fact that he's also Luke's friend. Twice, she tries dating a man named Nick (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who is essentially this film's answer to traditional comedy relief. Consider this line of dialogue, delivered as he and Lola sip wine in his obviously pretentious apartment: "I never set out to be a prison architect. It just happened that way." As Lola desperately tries to make sense of herself now that she's single, she's repeatedly approached by Luke, who it seems does want to work things out with her. She will, of course, surrender in a weak moment and have sex with him, but that doesn't necessarily mean she's ready to take him back. Meanwhile, Alice, in her own loveably neurotic way, laments about being the only single woman in New York. At the same time, she doesn't want to advance on someone like Henry, given the fact that he and Lola know each other too well.Reading this plot description, you may feel as if you know exactly where the film will go. To an extent, you'd be right; aspects of "Lola Versus" are cut from the same cloth as a traditional romantic comedy. But don't be lulled into a false sense of security. The filmmakers avoided many of the conventions audiences are conditioned to expect, which is good because that means certain elements may actually surprise you. I think the key difference between this film and your run-of-the-mill romcom is that the latter is typically founded on little more than the fantasy of falling in love with the ideal partner; "Lola Versus" is really more of a character study and isn't as interested in the mechanics of a contrived romance. It's about the title character's journey towards self-discovery.One thing the filmmakers do right is tone down on personality absolutes. Unlike a Hollywood romcom, where the characters are developed according to broad generalizations, "Lola Versus" paints in shades of gray and uses smaller strokes. When I described Luke earlier, I'll bet you came to the conclusion that he was a jerk and that Lola would be better off without him. But it isn't that clear cut. There are no perfect characters in this movie. They all make mistakes. On the same token, they all have redeeming qualities. Luke may be annoying unclear about what he wants, and he certainly could have handled the situation with Lola in a much better way, but he really isn't a bad guy.I also appreciated the way in which the filmmakers depict New York. Rather than bombard us with photogenic shots of landmarks and skylines we're all very familiar with, they instead opt for smaller, more intimate locations in less well known sections of the city. This isn't a travelogue; the setting is secondary to the human story at its core. That this particular story happens to revolve around the amusing ups and downs of relationship doesn't make that much of a difference. "Lola Versus" is a charming film, one that may not provide general audiences with everything they've come to expect from a romantic comedy but still gets the job done nicely. Despite my personal preferences, even I know that it's good to try out an alternative approach every once in a while.-- Chris Pandolfi (www.atatheaternearyou.net)

Don't try to wrap your brain around this movie you'll get a headache. Just know it's a pinch of THE OC, 90210 and Friends. Lola the creature of habit is about to find out that she needs to go out and create a new puzzle of life that she can add pieces too. The new generation nowadays its like passing around there ex's like a 5 foot subway sandwich with everyone getting a taste. I would say this would be for 18 to 30 female bracket. Guys would see the movie with their girl but it's not one guys are going to jump at. Lola makes a mistake in the beginning to try and make sense of here life and trying to make the best out of the pieces she has in making a puzzle.

I suppose you need to be in a New York state of mind to enjoy "Lola Versus," but, Phillistine that I am, I just could not pull it off. I also know exactly what many of the smug, self-styled intellectual reviewers are going to write and say about this film. That it's smart, quirky, snappy, gritty, real and funny.Don't believe any of that.Once again, I know I will be in the minority opinion, but to this scribbler, it's nothing but a series of unrelated sentences that seeks to substitute for a coherent script; a junk drawer full of supposedly wry and witty bon mots desperately in search of a plot, written by someone with Attention Deficit Disorder. It seemingly wants to be as clever as "Juno," but does not want to work for it. Of course, it's handicapped because it has neither the intelligence, charm or talent featured in that film. In fact, it's not even a low-rent "500 Days Of Summer," the next picture on the "Will-I-ever-find-true-love-again" bandwagon."Lola Versus" is the follow-up to "Breaking Upwards" from writer/director team Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones, where the filmmakers attempted to use conventional romcom figures of speech to jump-start conversations that ultimately went nowhere. This goes twice as much for Wein's latest release.He isn't given much to work with, however. In "Lola," we get actors such as Greta Gerwig ("No Strings Attached"), Joel Kinnaman ("Safe House," "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"), Hamish Linklater ("Battleship"), Lister-Jones ("The Other Guys," "Salt") and Ebon Moss-Bachrach ("The Lake House," Higher Ground").Oh sure, we also see veteran Bill Pullman (whose last significant work was "Rio Sex Comedy") and Academy Award-nominated (for "An Officer and a Gentleman" and "Terms of Endearment") actress, Debra Winger; both are wasted, though, as a terminally high father and nagging mother, respectively.Here, Gerwig plays the eponymous character, who lives in New York and has one of those New York lives that exist only in movies like this. She lives in a perfect, rent-controlled apartment and is engaged to uber stud, Luke (Kinnaman). It seems to be a match made in Heaven, until a chronic case of cold feet causes him to dump her three weeks before the wedding.This can happen. I personally know of a situation similar, but no one is going to put THAT story up on the big screen. Lola takes it hard - very hard. She sleeps for what seems like months (only waking to eat a few potato chips and wallow in self-pity, much like the audience). Later, her friend, Alice (Jones), tries to console her by taking her to singles bars and getting her plastered at private parties.Lola pays her back by sleeping with Alice's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Henry (Linklater), who plays in the world's lamest band. Their relationship begins with an innocent sleep-but-don't-touch thing, but soon devolves into a full-blown affair.And, since Gerwig's character is a 29-year old New Yorker, she is shallow, annoying, promiscuous and completely self-absorbed. She's also a pothead and an alcoholic, to boot. Plus, not since Kristin Wiig's embarrassing "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" breakdown in "Bridesmaids," do we get a female that goes Hollywood mental at just the wrong time (just because she sees Nick talking to another girl).All of this while trying to get her life back on track. However, she falls back into her old habits by cheating on her rebound guy with Nick Oyster (Moss-Bachrach), a well-endowed fish salesman (get it?). Lola has sex with him, then complains because he's bothers her, which is certainly the pot calling the kettle black here.Finally, Nick, seeing the error of his ways comes back into her life, and, of course, Lola forgives him and - gasp - has sex with him (how novel, a male character she sleeps with). In fact, she has baseless, passionless, meaningless intercourse so many times, it frankly becomes as irritating as Gerwig's empty, one-note performance.It's also very hard to feel sorry for someone who constantly blubbers because she cannot find love, yet has a perfect face and body, a full support group and seemingly beds every man in the Bronx. We all have our troubles and few tears are going to be wasted on her situation.Lister-Jones, who is equally bothersome most of the time, although a bit less self-centered as Lola, is probably the best thing about this movie (and that is certainly not saying very much). It's sad though, that while she steals every scene she's in, it's all petty larceny in the end. None of the other characters even approach empathy, chemistry or believability.All the while, the writing tandem attempts a viewer connection by name-dropping such entities as Facebook, match.com and Yelp!, but they spoil everything by practically waving their hands about frantically and shouting, "Hey! We're smarter than all of you! This movie is what life, love and finally growing up is really all about!" As previously written, don't believe that for a minute.