Netflix Sunday: 'Ask Me Anything', starring Britt Robertson

There's a very good chance Britt Robertson will be a big star one day, and, based on what she's brought to the table so far, this is well deserved. She's done a great job standing out in fairly mediocre films like Delivery Man, Scream 4, Cake and Dan in Real Life, and when given a pretty good material to work with, in films like The First Time and this weekend's Tomorrowland, she shines brighter. So it would only be fitting for her to give a fine turn in Ask Me Anything, among the first of her lead cinematic roles.

Written and directed by Allison Burnett, who also authored Undiscovered Gyrl, the YA novel it’s based upon, Ask Me Anything is very reminiscent of the kind of features former Disney Channel stars make when they decide to go full Miley Cyrus and enter “adult” material. Much like Spring Breakers or Party Monster or even some of Gregg Araki’s weaker efforts, though, it has an obsessive need to be edgy, and with that it feels thematically all over the place. 56-year-old male writer Burnett can’t quite capture the rampant thoughts of his 18-19-year-old protagonist in a genuine way, so thankfully Robertson can make his character more palpable.

Quite simply, Robertson is a natural talent. She’s mature, thoughtful and authentic in very likable ways as Katie Kampenfelt, a blogging early adult who tries to find herself in a yearlong break between high school and college. While the romantic and sexual interactions around her often feel hokey, the wisdom and heart she brings to Katie makes her shine, especially when Burnett focuses purely on her emotional journey. It’s just a shame the director constantly feels the need to pile on subplot after subplot of melodrama and excessive whining. It’s as though he knows his protagonist isn’t particularly interesting or sympathetic enough to move the story on her own, so instead of watching her grow naturally he adds banal or tiresome twists and turns.

Burnett puts together a fine supporting cast to guide Robertson’s Katie, with Martin Sheen being the stand-out as her bookstore boss and mentor figure Glenn Warburg and Robert Patrick also doing some very nice work as always as her real father Doug. Justin Long tries hard to make an impression as college professor and Katie’s older lover Doug, but never gets the opportunity to real do much other than tell Katie they shouldn’t be together. And Christian Slater, as Katie’s eventual other boss Paul Spooner, always seems like just the actor and never the character. But Molly Hagan as Katie’s mother Caroline gives a nicely refined performance, one which sadly never fully expressed even as the film’s final attempt at a gut punch hinges on her character.

But for what nice performances are here, there’s little about this movie that hasn’t been done or better before. Burnett, also the writer behind cheap thrillers like Gone and Untraceable, even an Underworld sequel, gives Katie’s arc such a generic and by-the-numbers approach that Ask Me Anything feels tediously long as just 98 minutes. There’s an intentional spunk that’s almost fun in the beginning, but as it drags along it never brings back this energy. Burnett’s sophomore movie lacks firm pacing, going through a bunch of subplots with clumsy affection towards his supporting characters. A number of faces come and go just when their needed in the plot, and the most specific example of this is Joel Seidler (Max Hoffman).

A suicidal college student Katie befriends later in the film, Joel is the most insightful and interesting behind Sheen’s Glenn. He’s the one who seems to give the maturity Burnett seemingly wants his film to have, and in turn serves as a nice voice of reason for the two whole scenes he’s in. But Burnett never quite figures out where to have his character fit into the story, especially as his relationship to Katie is platonic. He always seems in orbit, never landing successfully into the narrative structure, and this is a true bummer for he could very well have been what made this movie captivating.

Ask Me Anything also seems to take a negative stance on Katie’s dubious sexual habits, yet the character spends at least half the movie in her underwear and short shorts. This odd unbalance to Burnett’s focus, which produces some fairly unsettling results in this regard, sums up why his movie doesn’t quite gel together. Sometimes its jumpy story is true to real life, but often this screams of an unseasoned filmmaker trying to keep all his plates spinning. For while its occasional sophistication is noble, there’s never enough here to warrant an engaging or watchable look at a young girl’s transition into adulthood. It’s your typical petty-teenage-girl-coming-into-her-own story, and because it doesn’t produce much else, it fails to be compelling. Though Robertson shines as always, and at least it’s nice to see where she’s been as her career grows.

Image courtesy of Amazon