Bart Got A Room might not be a highly original movie, but I had a good time watching it. It’s about this kid Danny who’s kind of a geek trying to get a date for the prom. He’s got a crush on this hot sophomore he drives to school, plus his best friend since they were kids played by Alia Shawkat, asks him in a really nice letter. But, he wants it to be romantic, so he gets a room just in case, especially because this big goober kid, Bart, even got a room. Things go from bad to worse, Danny tries and fails with a series of girls and then, in the end, wants to surprise Shawkat by picking her up (she was going to go alone), but his buddy asked her because his girlfriend can’t go. It’s a big mess, even though his dad (William H. Macy) and mom (Cheryl Hines) try and help as best they can.

It’s not a teen classic by any means, but the performances are all stellar. The setting is interesting, I think it’s Florida. He’s surrounded by sun, palm trees, lizards, old people and cranes (both real and artistic representations) which makes it a lot more interesting visually. Plus, the end probably isn’t what you would have expected, though it reminded me of what happened to a friend of mine on his 21st birthday. I do have a problem with the logic behind the last quarter or so of the movie. Why wouldn’t he just tell Shawkat that he wanted to go with her? Also, why wouldn’t his friend have told him earlier that his girlfriend couldn’t go and that he asked Shawkat? Also, why would the dad leave a date with Jennifer Tilly who wants to have sex with him for any reason? That’s just crazy. I just read that writer/director Brian Hecker has co-written a movie about the founder of Atari, so that should be fun (hopefully).