Get Over It

‘Get Over It’ represents a big change of pace from my last two recommendations. It couldn’t be more different to ‘Welcome To The Rileys’ but I think it’s possible to enjoy both for different reasons. I’ve mentioned and encouraged the idea of being adventurous with movies and TV shows before, and I believe that a large component of this philosophy is the willingness to consider all types and genres. Sometimes I have to work hard to overcome my own movie genre bigotry, but if I uncover a gem in the process then the effort proves its worth.

So, what is ‘Get Over It’? It’s an modern update of Shakespeare’s, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ much in the same vein as the excellent ’10 Things I Hate About You’ and ‘She’s All That’. Those movies are justifiably well-known and well-loved. ‘Get Over It’, however, remains relatively obscure for reasons that I haven’t been able to grasp. Whenever I play it in the store, I feel like John Cusack’s character in ‘High Fidelity’: people will ask what’s playing and then almost certainly enjoy watching it when they get it home. This blog post will hopefully get the word out to at least 3 more people.

There’s something crucial to keep in mind when you’re about to embark on a viewing of ‘Get Over It’: it’s silly. In fact, it’s very silly. It’s important to set your expectations accordingly. This isn’t Shakespeare we’re talking about.

I think what makes this movie work for me is its unrelenting enthusiasm and positivity. It may be one of the most upbeat movies I’ve ever seen, and there’s a sense of innocence and purity to it, almost as though it were made in another era. By the time the end credits have rolled, you will have a huge smile on your face and a bounce in your step. Either that, or you’ve walked out halfway. There is no third option.

There are a couple of outstanding elements that come to mind when I think about ‘Get Over It’. One of them is the opening credit sequence. No discussion about this movie would be complete without mentioning it. After Berke Landers (played by Ben Foster) has been unceremoniously dumped by his longstanding girlfriend she literally sends him packing, marching him out her front door with nothing but a cardboard box (‘I’ve packed up most of your stuff...I thought it would be easier’). As he slowly shuffles away from her house, musicians emerge from her garage and follow him, singing along to Captain & Tenille’s song, ‘Love Will Keep Us Together’. As he continues to saunter down the street, he is followed by an ever-increasing number of dancers who join in on the parade, as if to torment his state of mind all the more. The truly impressive part is that all this is done within just one shot, with no editing at all - a truly virtuosic feat! It’s exactly this level of surrealism and insanity that imbues the entire movie.

The other thing that immediately springs to mind when thinking about this movie for me is the character played by Martin Short, Dr. Desmond Forrest Oates. He’s the high school drama director, and he’s one of those types who’s haughtiness is surpassed only by his lack of any genuine talent. Martin Short absolutely has a field day with this and portrays him masterfully with total maniacal glee. Speaking of ‘Glee’, if you took the worst aspects of the character of Sue Sylvester from that stupendous TV show and combined them with the ineptitude of Corky St. Clair from the masterpiece ‘Waiting For Guffman’ then you have something resembling Dr. Desmond Forrest Oates. He is truly a wonderful creation.

To sum up, this movie is an unstoppable force of nature that doesn’t know that ’11’ is the highest number that something can be turned up to and instead goes all the way to ’12’. I invite you to join the party and add your comments below.