Damsels in Distress might be described as a romantic comedy. It's greatest value lays, however, in blending parody with social commentary. Roughly speaking, the college campus in the movie is divided into two camps: rich-but-uneducated and poor-but-unkempt. Between them are the main protagonists with Good Samaritan attitude. And none of the above are fully likable.
I guess that the parody is rather straightforward. The social commentary, on the other hand, might be too intellectual for the average viewer. This was obviously a conscious effort but apparently led to alienating mainstream audience. The reason I'm pointing this out is because in it's essence Damsels in Distress is in no way inferior to, for example, Judd Apatow's Knocked Up or The 40 Years Old Virgin.
This seems to be Whim Stillman's most focused effort to date: Gone are endless Woody Allen-esque dialogues better suitable for Off-Broadway than the big screen. The movie references some of Stillman's previous work, the most obvious being Gretta Gerwig as a surrogate Chloë Sevigny. But this is where i quit deep-diving and continued enjoying the movie.
I guess that the parody is rather straightforward. The social commentary, on the other hand, might be too intellectual for the average viewer. This was obviously a conscious effort but apparently led to alienating mainstream audience. The reason I'm pointing this out is because in it's essence Damsels in Distress is in no way inferior to, for example, Judd Apatow's Knocked Up or The 40 Years Old Virgin.
This seems to be Whim Stillman's most focused effort to date: Gone are endless Woody Allen-esque dialogues better suitable for Off-Broadway than the big screen. The movie references some of Stillman's previous work, the most obvious being Gretta Gerwig as a surrogate Chloë Sevigny. But this is where i quit deep-diving and continued enjoying the movie.