Daydream Nation (DVD Review)

DVD review of the awesome Canadian dark comedy Daydream Nation starring Kat Dennings, Josh Lucas & Reece Thomspon and the directorial debut from Michael Goldbach.


Image: DAYDREAM NATION. Courtesy of eOne Films.

Writer/Dir: Michael Goldbach - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Kat Dennings, Reece Thompson, Andie MacDowell, Rachel Blanchard, Josh Lucas, Jesse Reid, Landon Liboiron, Calum Worthy
Canada, 2011

Reason to see: Canadian & Kat Dennings is enough to make any film a yes!

Daydream Nation stars Kat Dennings as Caroline Wexler, a city girl who's ends up in a small town and decides out of boredom to wreak some havoc on those around her, primarily but creating her very own love triangle.

Wow, Daydream Nation totally got me. There were so many things that I loved about it. I love how it's clearly Canadian. I love how it feels like a messed up mash up of Degrassi meets Durham County, and is witty to boot. I love how it shows high schoolers who really feel like high schoolers, for all the good and the bad. I love how it has a strong, believable female protagonist who causes lots of trouble...mostly intentionally. I loved Kat Dennings (Thor, Defendor) as Caroline, she easily carried and played brilliantly off of all the other actors from love interests Thurston (Reece Thompson) and Barry (Josh Lucas) to adults including Thurston's Mom Enid (Andie MacDowell). I loved the writing, the dialogue is freaking fantastic and hilarious. Several times I missed the next thing because I was laughing so hard.

Writer and first time director Michael Goldbach does a great job here pulling off what feels like a kid of crazy, let still believable and accessible story with characters you shouldn't by any means support but can't help but love. It's an amazing feat and makes me want to revisit Childstar, another hilarious Canadian film which he wrote. Daydream Nation has the same beautiful blend of comedy with harsh drama that brings complex character to light with great dialogue and through fantastic performances from the entire cast. I highly recommend checking it out.

DVD Extras:

• Behind-the-Scenes of Daydream Nation (6 minutes) behind the scenes, film clips and interviews with writer/director Michael Goldbach, actors Kat Dennings, Reece Thompson, Josh Lucas, Andie MacDowell, Jesse Reid, Landon Liboiron, Calum Worthy on the inspiration for the film, the story, the small town setting, the characters, inspiration drawn on for the characters, their relationships & motivations as well as working together and working with first time director Michael Goldbach.

Daydream Nation is available on DVD as of May 17, 2011. Check it out over at Amazon.ca & Amazon.com

Shannon's Overall View:
I loved it
I'll watch it again
I highly recommend it

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© Shannon Ridler, 2011


Kat Dennings in DAYDREAM NATION. Courtesy of eOne Films.


Josh Lucas in DAYDREAM NATION. Courtesy of eOne Films.