Release Date:  August 21, 2009
Rating:  PG-13 (for sexual situations and brief strong language)
Genre:  Comedy
Run Time:  89 min.
Director:  Vicky Jenson
Actors:  Alexis Bledel, Zach Gilford, Michael Keaton, Jane Lynch, Bobby Coleman, Carol Burnett, Rodrigo Santoro, Catherine Reitman, J.K. Simmons

Although largely overlooked at the box office when it debuted back in 1994, but a minor hit later on DVD, Reality Bites effectively captured the angst of four recent college graduates who weren't exactly making much headway on finding a fulfilling career.

Of course, there was the requisite love triangle between Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke and Ben Stiller's respective characters woven in, but even the quest for true love among the flannel shirt set-complete with a fantastic alterna soundtrack in the background-didn't steal the spotlight from the story's central conflict:  Will these twenty-somethings ultimately succeed?

In a similar vein, Post Grad tackles the same topic, which is probably more relevant to its target audience than ever before, given today's volatile job market. But instead of giving the storyline the gravitas it deserves, the script quickly goes all Little Miss Sunshine with way too much screen time dedicated to Rylen's quirky family, the sort of motley crew only dreamed up for movies in the first place.

Case in point:  Her dad (Michael Keaton), a quasi-successful owner of a luggage shop is chomping at the bit to start a belt buckle business (huh?), her little brother Hunter (Bobby Coleman) routinely gets in trouble for licking the top of his classmates' heads, and her grandma (Carol Burnett) is so obsessed with her own death that she takes the family shopping for caskets (and tries them on, so to speak, by lying in them so the family can get a feel for which would look best).

If that lack of focus wasn't already distracting enough, there's a predictable (quelle surprise) romantic subplot involving the loyal but spineless guy friend (Zach Gilford) who has really wanted Rylen (Alexis Bledel) to be his girlfriend all along and the object of her lust next door, David, (Rodrigo Santoro), a much older guy who's a gifted artist but pays the bills by working on infomericals.

For even the most talented filmmakers, that's a lot of movie to cram into an hour and a half. And with Post Grad, it's just one of the many reasons the comedy doesn't really connect. Not only are the intended laughs not very funny, but we don't know all that much about our main character Rylen. Sure, we know that she wants to put her longtime love of literature to good use at a local publishing company (in Los Angeles, no less—not exactly the first place you think of for careers in novel acquisitions) and has dazzling blue eyes that the cameramen love to zoom in on, but not much else.