‘Lola Versus’ features far too many navel-gazers

Great Gerwig is a likable actress, a performer who can achieve that rare balance between drama and comedy. Watching her in Lola Versus, the new indie from director Daryl Wein, should be an enjoyable experience, but the 87-minute movie falls far short of its goals. Watching the title character fall in and out of love on her journey to a greater appreciation for life is blah entertainment. This formula hasn’t been done a hundred times before; it’s been done about a thousand times before.

Gerwig plays Lola, a hopeless romantic who’s in a steady relationship with Luke (Joel Kinnaman, of The Killing), a successful artist who can afford an impossibly large apartment in New York City. The two are engaged and ready to affirm their unrequited love for each other. But, as these things go, Luke has doubts, and the wedding is called off. The sudden disruption to Lola’s bliss throws our main character into a tailspin. She relies on the help of her two best friends — played with fairly good comedic timing by Hamish Linklater and Zoe Lister Jones — but they soon lose their luster, and Lola finds herself alone. And, yes, she binge eats.

If this plot sounds typical, it is. If the ending sounds inevitable, it is. There are no surprises in Lola Versus, and the somewhat funny one-liners and fine performances are wasted on a storyline that’s worthy of the editing room floor in the world of rom-coms (Wein and Lister Jones penned the script).

The most egregious failure is that the scenes in the movie feature so much navel-gazing and introspection that one begins to hate the cast of characters. One’s love life can be rich with complexity, comedy and oddity, but as presented in Lola Versus, everything feels tired and cliche. At one point, this late-20s character fights with her ex, invites her best friend over for a “sleepover” and answers the flirtations of a strange man at the local deli. Each of these scenarios leaves Lola depressed and wanting more from life … what a surprise. Seeing her juggle these problems is not interesting in the least.

Debra Winger and Bill Pullman show up for a few scenes as Lola’s parents, but their characters are underwritten and far too unbelievable. They are both subject to strange lines of dialogue that seem to be written for a movie and not real life. It’s as if Lola Versus is the first draft of a Diablo Cody movie (do people really talk like this?).

There are times of genuine laughter during Lola Versus, but the chuckles don’t overcome the triviality and paint-by-numbers storyline. This one is an unfortunate misfire.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Lola Versus

• 2012

• Directed by Daryl Wein

• Written by Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister Jones

• Starring Greta Gerwig, Lister Jones, Joel Kinnaman, Debra Winger, Bill Pullman and Hamish Linklater

• Running time: 87 minutes

• Rated R for language, sexuality and drug use

• Rating: