Review of Middle of Nowhere

Middle of Nowhere is a coming of age comedy about friends, family and the struggles that come along with that. We meet the protagonist, Dorian Spitz (Anton Yelchin) in the opening scene getting stoned. He is rebellious and witty, like Matthew Broderick in 1986. Initially I thought I was getting into another Charlie Bartlett which although I enjoyed, felt like the genre was a little worn out. I knew this was going to be different as I got further in. We soon meet Grace (Eva Amurri) who is at the loan office trying her hardest to sweet talk her way around thousands of dollars in credit card debt to get a student loan to go to college in the Fall. She blames the debt on her mother, Rhonda (Susan Sarandon), stating that after her father died her mother needed the money. We are then brought back to Dorian, his parents have high expectations that he feels he doesn't need to meet and this is presumably the motive for his actions. Dorian lands a job at a water park where he meets Grace and puts forth a great amount of effort to get to know. She needs money for school and he needs money to break off his dependence from his parents. Being without a vehicle he is forced to walk everywhere and buys a ride from Grace for $100. They make a few different stops and Grace finds out that he is selling weed and being the straight edge that she is drives off, leaving him at gas station. Grace later realizes that selling pot would be her best bet on paying for school. Grace and Dorian team up for a series of drug runs. Dorian meets Grace's younger sister, Taylor (Willa Holland) when they pick her up. Like Grace, Taylor also struggles with their mother. Taylor is being forced into starting a modeling career. Grace meets Ben Pretzler (Justin Chatwin)at the water park and they form a relationship of lust. Dorian is jealous because he begins to form feelings for Grace all while Taylor forms feelings for Dorian. As the story progresses, we find Grace, Taylor and Dorian struggling with family issues but forming a friendship through it. This is a drama-comedy about love, drugs, money, lust, suicide, family and friends. What looks like the formation of a nasty love triangle turns into a beautiful friendship between a lonely non- conformist and two sisters brought together by tragedy and angst.