WHAT IF I WIN?

008. Good Dick (2008)

Netflix kept insisting that this was a movie I would like so I decided to watch it, concerned though I was about its name.

I had little to be concerned about.  This isn’t porn.  It’s not even really about porn, though it does somehow simultaneously play a central role while hanging on the sidelines.  What it’s really about is the people.  And speaking of people, Marianna Palka somehow managed to write, direct, and star in this movie – and she didn’t do half bad in all respects.

First I liked it, then I was skeptical, then I didn’t like it, then I liked it again, then I hated it, then I sort of liked it.  And now, after having watched it, I am still somehow skeptical.

Aspects of Good Dick are superbly done.  A completely strange and unlikely situation that, in reality, would probably result in a restraining order and therapy, is somehow believable.  You find yourself rooting for this unnamed stalker character who should probably be thrown in jail, not cheered for.  (Though the fact he’s played adorably by Jason Ritter probably helps.)  Marianna’s character, also unnamed, is intriguing in her repulsiveness, and the less we know about her the better.  The more we find out about her, the less interesting she becomes.

Overall I think this movie succeeded in what it was trying to do, however I would have liked it better had it stayed in the realm of ‘what the hell is going on?’ and left the secrets as such.

5.5/10