Greener Grass

Greener Grass is a 2019 American dark comedy film, written and directed by Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe in their feature directorial debuts. It stars DeBoer, Luebbe, Beck Bennett, Neil Casey, Mary Holland and D'Arcy Carden. The film had its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, and was released in theaters and on VOD on October 18, 2019.[3]

For the novel by Caroline Pignat, see Greener Grass: The Famine Years.
Greener Grass
Directed by
  • Jocelyn DeBoer
  • Dawn Luebbe
Produced byNatalie Metzger
Written by
  • Jocelyn DeBoer
  • Dawn Luebbe
Based onGreener Grass
by Paul Briganti
Starring
Music bySamuel Nobles
CinematographyLowell A. Meyer
Edited byTaylor Gianotas
Production
companies
  • Gulp Splash Productions
  • Vanishing Angle
  • 30West
Distributed byIFC Midnight
Release date
  • January 26, 2019 (2019-01-26) (Sundance)
  • October 18, 2019 (2019-10-18)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$68,593[1][2]

Cast

Production

Greener Grass is based on the 2015 short film of the same name, also directed by Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe.[4][5] In October 2018, it was announced that DeBoer, Luebbe, Beck Bennett, Neil Casey, Mary Holland, D'Arcy Carden, Janicza Bravo, Dot-Marie Jones, Jim Cummings, Lauren Adams, Asher Miles Fallica, Julian Hilliard and John Milhiser had joined the cast of the film, with DeBoer and Luebbe directing from a screenplay they wrote.[6] Natalie Metzger served as the producer on the film.[3]

Release and reception

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2019.[7][8] Prior to, IFC Midnight acquired distribution rights to the film.[9] It also screened at South by Southwest on March 9, 2019.[10][11] It was released in theaters and on VOD on October 18, 2019.[3] Currently available on Hulu.

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 80% based on 65 reviews, with an average rating of 6.85/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Greener Grass is far from the first comedy to skewer suburbia -- but it might be among the most bizarre and surreally distinctive."[12] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[13]

Peter Debruge of Variety called the film "an odd and wonderfully upbeat absurdist take on the American dream."[14] Andee Tagle of NPR wrote, "Greener Grass may feel more like a long series of sketches than a feature-length film — but comedy aside, the punchy, Wes Anderson-meets-80's-music-video aesthetic of cinematographer Lowell A. Meyer, matched with Lauren Oppelt's impeccable costume design, offer delights of their own. But if not for the color or the comedy, maybe come for the social commentary. You'll be surprised... by how much a silly, madcap comedy such as this one might make you think."[5]

References
  1. "Greener Grass (2019)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  2. "Greener Grass (2019)". The Numbers. IMDb. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  3. Erbland, Kate (15 October 2019). "'Greener Grass' Review: This Wonderfully Weird Suburban Satire Is the Year's Most Inventive Movie". Indiewire. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  4. Catsoulis, Jeannette (17 October 2019). "'Greener Grass' Review: Life Is (Not) Beautiful". New York Times. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  5. Tagle, Andee (17 October 2019). "Suburban Satire 'Greener Grass' Offers Surreal, Pastel-Hued Truths". NPR. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  6. N'Duka, Amanda (October 1, 2018). "'SNL's Beck Bennett, D'Arcy Carden Star In 'Greener Grass'; 'Just Mercy' Adds Dominic Bogart & Hayes Mercure". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  7. Debruge, Peter (November 28, 2018). "Sundance Film Festival Unveils 2019 Features Lineup". Variety. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  8. "Greener Grass". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  9. Blauvelt, Christian (March 6, 2019). "IFC Midnight Buys Eye-Popping Suburban Satire 'Greener Grass' — Exclusive". IndieWire. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  10. Nolfi, Joey (February 7, 2019). "Pet Sematary remake to world premiere at 2019 SXSW Film Festival". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  11. "Greener Grass". South by Southwest. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  12. "Greener Grass (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  13. "The Polka King Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  14. Debruge, Peter (2 February 2019). "Film Review: 'Greener Grass'". Variety. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
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