The Go-Getter poster & wallpaper

Bill Duke, Giuseppe Andrews, Jena Malone

A teenage boy steals a car in order to go on a road trip to find his long-lost brother and tell him that their mother has died. The boy ends up finding his brother and himself as well.

Flixster Users

70% liked it

725 ratings

Critics

43% liked it

23 critics

R, 1 hr. 33 min.

Directed by: Martin Hynes

Release Date: June 6, 2008

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DVD Release Date: October 21, 2008

Stats: 295 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (295)

  • lewiskendell
    April 21, 2009
    lewiskendell
    Most indie movies that I have seen are either remarkably good or boring beyond belief. The Go-Getter lies between these two extremes, and thankfully it's closer to good than boring.

    I'll freely admit that I wanted to see this because Zooey D. is in it, and most of the time I was...( read more) watching it impatient for when she would finally show up in person. The Go-Getter is sorta like a one-man road trip mixed with a coming of age movie. The story is a little sad, and it doesn't take long to really empathize with and root for the main character, Mercer.

    If the movie would have had more Zooey D. and it didn't lose a bit of its narrative focus at the end, it would have earned a stronger rating from me. But The Go-Getter is definitely worth seeing if you're a fan of this type of film festival product. It's not among the best of them, but it's nowhere near the worst.
  • her69eyes
    January 7, 2009
    her69eyes
    The road trip genre is perhaps one of the most overused in American cinema, especially on the independent scene. In just the past few years, you could pick out several movies that follow the same basic formula - from "Grace is Gone" to "Wristcutters: A Love Story", and even the w...( read more)onderful "Into the Wild". Fortunately, however, the genre is almost always satisfying. It follows an easy character arc (a young man learns about life through a series of encounters with people of entirely new point-of-views), and it's always completely digestible entertainment. And although this film tries a little bit too hard to showcase it's "indie cred", "The Go-Getter" is a fairly satisfying, albeit minor, addition to the genre

    "The Go-Getter" follows Mercer (Lou Taylor Pucci, from "Thumbsucker" and "The Chumscrubber"), a 19-year-old free spirit whose mother passed away eight months ago. Although the loss of his mother was a big blow, he has recovered enough to have a sense of humor about it - when people ask about her, he comes up with stories such as her being on an Australian walkabout. One day, on an impulse, Mercer poses as an employee for a car wash and steals a car. Shortly thereafter, the owner of the car, Kate (Zooey Deschanel), calls Mercer on the cell phone she had left on the seat, and is oddly forgiving. So forgiving, in fact, that she doesn't respond angrily, rather she cherishes Mercer's sense of adventure. She allows him to borrow the car without any trouble as long as he calls her throughout the trip and lets her know how things are going.

    Mercer's trip, beginning in Eugene, Oregon, is a quest to find his half-brother, Arlen (Jsu Garcia), and let him know the news about their mother. Arlen is much older. Mercer only begins to learn about him over the course of the trip, as the name "Arlen" is infamous enough to literally send people running out of a room. One person in particular, a Buddhist, punches Mercer straight in the face just for being related.

    Along the way, Mercer meets up with Joely (Jena Malone), a seductive crush from junior high, and her group of friends. Joely, whom Mercer had remembered fondly, is now a temptress and quite the slut. Jena Malone is underutilized here, but she's still a welcome presence to almost any film. The rest of the characters on the road are largely forgettable, with the exception of Bill Duke, who lectures Mercer on self-defense.

    "The Go-Getter"'s soundtrack is mostly composed by indie artist M. Ward, who met his lover and future musical collaborator, Zooey Deschanel, on the set. I liked the fact that this was an indie film that didn't try and get all the hottest new groups on the soundtrack, however M. Ward's music does grow tiring eventually as each song begins to blend into the next. What I did like, however, is that in other scenes where music would be expected, a book-on-tape of a Western parallels Mercer's adventure on the road.

    This is a film that premiered at Sundance, and it's a parody of a film that would premiere at Sundance - it's dialogue is sporadic and slightly pretentious (conversations about talking to squirrels is not cute nor endearing, despite how irresistible Zooey may be), and in a very obtrusive manner, director Martin Hynes constantly tries to showboat his film knowledge with embarrassingly forced references to directors like Jean-Luc Godard. While the movie is mostly low-key and cute, there are plenty of moments where it seems nothing more than masturbatory.

    Ultimately, what makes "The Go-Getter" work is Lou Taylor Pucci and Zooey Deschanel. Pucci is an appealing young lead, and I would expect his star to continue to rise over the course of the next few years. Zooey Deschanel effortlessly breezes through the material and is incredibly charming, and even when only her voice is heard she steals the show. This certainly isn't a great film, and it does try a little bit too hard to appeal to that hipster audience at the sake of authenticity, but it's an enjoyable 90 minutes. It's worth a rental.
  • StaisilD
    December 5, 2008
    StaisilD
    Mercer (Lou Taylor Pucci) leaves school one day to steal a car so he can find his older brother to tell him the news that his mom has died. Along the way, he receives phone calls from the sympathetic young woman (Zooey Deschanel) from whom he stole the car, guiding him towards se...( read more)lf-discovery. He also encounters a girl (Jena Malone) from his past who has grown into a quite different young woman. As Mercer learns more about his wayward brother, his trip becomes more and more difficult and surreal. Zooey Deschanel and Jena Malone both shine as Mercer's perspective love interests. Most of Zooey's performance is over the phone, and her voice is remarkably expressive. Pucci is playing subtle variations on his role in Mike Mills' excellent Thumbsucker, but he has a comfort with the part that eases you into Mercer's plight. Visited by highway ghosts that range from Maura Tierney's pet-shop stoner to Nick Offerman's infuriated potter, Hynes is careful to never let the film lose focus of Mercer and Kate.
  • chrismid259
    August 28, 2008
    chrismid259
    Enjoyable drama but even though it was only 93-minutes-long it felt like the road was never going to end.
  • iaritcha
    October 19, 2009
    iaritcha
    Meio entediante em alguns momentos. O mais legal é a relação do Mercer com a Kate :)
  • bloodflower722
    October 12, 2009
    bloodflower722
    I liked the movie. At times, it was slow paced, but its still a good movie with a decent story. Great performances and soundtrack.
  • angelfalls
    September 28, 2009
    angelfalls
    a pretty long and boring movie. Though the storyline line was nice it made me sleepy.!!!!!
  • anunholyvoid
    September 24, 2009
    anunholyvoid
    Uneven road movie that centers around Pucci's character who is in search of his estranged half-brother in order to tell him that their mother has passed away. It tends to peter out towards the middle and end, but keeps interest alive with a suitably poignant score and beautiful s...( read more)cenery. A strong cast, but the directionless plot - which involves an overused idea of a road trip - struggles to deal with the talents on offer. Although at least two of the three main characters are likable, the hindrance that is the plot makes this rather dull at times and given my high expectations for this indie movie, I am even more surprised at how generic it turned out to be.
  • awkoppenberg
    September 11, 2009
    awkoppenberg
    I thought this was delightful.

    Zooey Deschanel is gorgeous, Lou Taylor Pucci a very talented young actor.

    I loved the soundtrack, and M Ward IS AMAZING!!!!!! His soulfull melancholy voice and pensive quitar brought a great feel to this movie.

    Altogether enjoyable.
  • JimG944
    September 8, 2009
    JimG944
    1 of 5 stars for this boring movie. I lasted 18 minutes into it before deleting it. Low-budget made, looks bad, uninteresting characters. Don't waste your time.

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Critic Reviews

June 11, 2008
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Director-writer Martin Hynes shapes his first movie into something emotionally truthful, painfully funny and vibrantly alive. full review

June 2, 2008
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

Martin Hynes's first film, The Go-Getter, is an especially wonderful addition to the [road movie] genre, with the right -- flickering -- mixture of loneliness and enchantment, and with jokes that come... full review

View more The Go-Getter reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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  • ****NAME THIS MOVIE**** A young go-getter named Andrea is elated to get a gig as a second assistant to the editor-in-chief of Runway Magazine. However, her ruthless boss, Miranda Priestly, quickly turns her dream job into a nightmare.  Answer »
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