THE FILM

Hilary Duff is endeavoring to stretch as an actress, but I'm not convinced the drama "According to Greta" gets the job done for her. The former tween queen takes the reins on a harsh character that's exceptionally self-centered, suicidal, and brimming with mall chick wiseacrery -- a definite change of pace for a star desperate to smother her previous bubble gum professional choices. However, "According to Greta" is a melodrama and a labored one at that, entertaining far too much tiresome formula, making the whole enterprise feel like an extended television pilot, or perhaps a fiendish "Georgia Rule" sequel.

Greta (Hilary Duff) is a sass-mouthed, profoundly depressed young woman sent to live with her grandparents, Katherine (Ellen Burstyn) and Joseph (Michael Murphy), in the small New Jersey town of Ocean Grove while her mother works on her umpteenth marriage. A belligerent girl, Greta loathes the living arrangement, trying to pass the time with a part-time job as an irascible waitress, hoping to cap off this brutal coming of age summer with a poetic suicide. Instead of doom, Greta starts to learn about herself through tough love from her grandparents, along with a romantic attraction to line cook Julie (Evan Ross, raspy and surprisingly unpleasant).

Hilary Duff as a chirpy badass is a difficult image to swallow. The heavy eyeliner helps, as does the general tough girl stomp she shows off in "According to Greta," but after all the apple-cheeked roles she's played, watching Duff attempt to depict a hard-edged, unloved hellion takes some getting used to. She pulls it off in a few of the prime freak out sequences, but it's ultimately the filmmaking that lets down "According to Greta," not Duff.

Director Nancy Bardawil is aiming to craft a motion picture that matches the volatile, crudely written diary kept by Greta -- a tonal Grand Canyon jump that needs far more nutrition than the flashes of scribbled animation and intrusive indie soundtrack is able to provide. As Greta checks off events on a to-do list of accomplishments she's working on for the summer (e.g. learn languages, lose virginity), Bardawil botches the juggling game, crudely leading the character through the hoariest of dramatic clichés to make a lasting point of teen deliverance. The predictability of it all isn't the problem, it's the way Bardawil refuses to challenge the material beyond pedestrian ideas. She refuses to hunt for any possible way to subvert the norm and impart "According to Greta" with a riveting cinematic personality.

THE DVD

Visual:

Presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1 aspect ratio), the images of lost youth set against the colorful wonderland of the Jersey Shore makes for a few compelling sequences, handled adequately by the DVD. Colors are strong and deep -- outdoor sequences look terrific - and skintones register as natural. Black levels are lost in low-light situations, but remain steady throughout the rest of the picture. Some EE is evident during the presentation.

Audio:

The 5.1 Dolby Digital sound mix here is adequate for the low-budget film at hand. Soundtrack selections come across with compelling depth, balanced comfortably with dialogue exchanges. Surrounds are used minimally, mostly to bring in a sense of outdoor atmosphere, with the best moments reserved for oceanic scenes. Actors are heard clearly, if a bit tinny at times, especially during the more heated moments of conflict.

Subtitles:

English SDH are included.

Extras:

"'Greta:' Behind the Scenes" (18:39) is friendly enough, capturing the familial mood of the set as they scraped together this drama. Interviews with cast and crew go into inspirations and reverence, while a nice collection of B-roll is presented to provide visual evidence. Oddly missing is Hilary Duff, who doesn't appear in any the interviews, despite being the topic of conversation. Also, the materials refer to the picture solely as "Greta," the original title.

"Deleted and Alternate Scenes" (7:17) provide more teen angst and Jersey atmosphere, often without the benefit of sound (something that should've been pointed out somewhere during this supplement -- I thought my set-up had died). Nothing of substance, just filler, rightly removed from the film.

"Alternate Ending" (1:34) is a brief detour, built more for poetry than the theatrical cut.

A Theatrical Trailer has not been included.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Daddy issues, senior citizen medical happenstance, and relationship woes fill in the third act of "According to Greta," putting further unnecessary weight on the production. I wanted to embrace the film as an opportunity for Duff to continue distancing herself away from her Disney roots, but the writing is terrible, the direction blind, and the supporting cast either tuned out or overwhelmed from the get-go. "According to Greta" misfires when it should've soared, and while Hilary Duff gives the role a forceful middle-finger twinkle, it's wasted on unsophisticated ABC Family leftovers.