User Reviews

The main character was insufferable, and her actions were painful to watch. There were many times I thought I would stop watching, but I forced myself to sit through it, and I'm glad I did.

After Greta's botched suicide-attempt the movie gets better by a mile. She begins to see how her actions hurt the people around her, and some sense is put into her head.

Towards the end I feel like the movie becomes the suicide prevention film that it's seemingly made out to be. Nevertheless that doesn't condone the first hour of the movie.

Seriously. You have to roll a good distance into the film to discover exactly what has caused Greta to become a terror, but eventually it unfolds, raising all sorts of questions: is her suicidal tendency for real? Has she inherited her father's mental illness? That fear alone is enough to make a frightened teen lash out -- especially as her mother, her only anchor/support, shows a surprising lack of empathy (she sends Greta away to "save her marriage"). An ego-crushing blow, to be abandoned by one's sole surviving parent.

There are, of course, inevitably stock characters to flesh things out, and it's impossible not to recognize them very quickly: the sensitive and caring guy of a similar age--the *only* teen we see outside the dangerous Asbury Park slums Greta sneaks away to explore. And with his sweet, soft voice, gentle face and intent gaze, we recognize immediately that Julie (Evan Ross) is the romantic interest--whatever Greta's initial intent might be (shock the grandparents? Check!). Just as we recognize that Greta's grandmother (Ellyn Burstyn) will provide the friction, and her grandfather (Michael Murphy) will serve as a caring mediator, managing things with a patient humor.

That being said, Hillary Duff's performance is at its best when she is the brash, rude and rebellious Greta, and later when her armor starts to chip and she shows the pain underneath that callous exterior. Once Greta becomes more happy with life, Duff falls back on her Disney acting chops (yawn). Although the supporting characters are stock, they don't descend into boring because the parts are so well acted. It would have been better to see more of Greta's mom (Melissa Leo) on screen, to understand what makes her so seriously prickly and incapable of parenting her daughter. At 88 minutes, and layered with so many of the animated journal scenes, the film could have spared the time to pull this off.

Is this film like "Juno"? Essentially no. I found the character of Juno to be kind of precious, and artificial, and the film's conclusion saccharine. "According to Greta" deals with a teen-aged girl overwhelmed by the psychological scars (from dad, on several levels) and open wounds (from mom) of serious emotional trauma. And I was glad to see that she was such an intelligent and rebellious fighter--if she stopped fighting, she may have followed through with her suicide plot, far away from anyone who could save her. The conclusion was also well-done precisely because it was so open-ended. Will Greta and Julie live happily ever after? Probably not (how many of us are with our first teen sweethearts?) Will all be well between Greta, her mom, and her stepfather? Probably not. But that's life, and it remains a work in progress.

I watched this last night on the BBC where it was listed as Surviving Summer. I thought it had potential and Hilary Duff was pretty good though I haven't really seen her in anything else to compare - I've only watched a few episodes of Lizzie Maguire. I thought the ending was a bit rushed, nothing was resolved with Julie, her mother changed too quickly and nothing was discussed regarding her dad. I gather this film has rather a small budget and limited release and I think with a few tweaks then it may have been better. It was certainly an unusual subject matter and was better handled than most. I'm glad they didn't resort to the obvious self-harming and I liked the fact that Greta chose to control her own future and not take medication. A comment somewhere mentioned she was bipolar which unless it was mentioned in the first 10 minutes or so (I switched channel late) I missed and if it was mentioned in that first 10 minutes then it was only the once which seems pointless.

A very slow start, but it does get better. I thought the actors did a great job with what they had to work with. I'm sorry but I thought the writers could have done a little better job. Many parts were very "true to life" actions and attitudes of a troubled unlovable teen. I know I was one and Hilary really hit some of my emotions & reactions right on the nose. "Gramps" was a great buffer between Greta and "Grams". Julie was good match for her, I was initially weary of him, but he won me over, just as he did Gramps. The job interview needed either more or less comedy, it didn't quite fit the rest of the movie, it wasn't Hil's fault. Her waitressing was very funny though. I laughed as hard as the customers. The fish tasting scene was very sweet and really gave Julie a heart. I loved the way she handled the morning after catching Grams and Gramps in bed! The biggest let down was the ending. It left me wanting either closure or a sequel to find out how the family evolved, if she finish school back home and if she and Julie moved on.

I started with little hope for this movie except for it to kindly fill 90 minutes of my time and let me enjoy some mindless time-out. It definitely accomplished this, though, unusually, it's left me with some points of interest worth raising.

I found Greta's serious desire to prevent herself from growing old and to off herself once her fun time is up very interesting and captivating. However, much like her offbeat, rough character traits, it seemed to have been dismissed too easily in the end. I would've much preferred some more development on her character and her relationships and maybe some deeper explanation to her than the 'my father did this' excuse. Why did it not turn her off suicide? She says she wants to kill herself so she can avoid the boring, annoying events of life that come with ageing, yet is this why her father shot himself? I don't think there's a connection (unless I've forgotten a plot point already.)

It would be wrong to say this movie was about her relationship with Julie, and though, I personally had more interest in Greta's relationship with her grandparents, I found his character just lovely and warm and very endearing. However, I am puzzled as to why the 3 supporting characters just let Greta carry on the way she did. Yes, the neighbour and her mother went about it the wrong way, but there should have been MORE standing up to her. Her behaviour was atrocious and I felt there was no real redemption for it from the other characters. Why did they even want her around? I certainly wouldn't have wanted any more of her after one conversation.

Maybe it was okay that there was no answer to the Greta and Julie question -- I don't mind open endings for some parts, but there still has to be resolution, and I think Julie gave her that.

While this movie was enjoyable and definitely a big step up for Duff, I feel there was just not enough to make it 'great'. Comparisons to a mix of Georgia Rule and Juno are not off base.

This may not be a very long review but I think it is one worth reading. Everyone is saying how it is good acting but I am insulted! Overall it is a good film but as a teenager myself who is suffering from depression and suicidal thought myself, I feel that this film has portrayed this type of person completely wrong! I am in almost the same situation as Greta but I am disgusted by the way that chose to act out her role! If she really was suicidal she would not be telling everyone like that! She would be hiding it inside and killing herself quietly! She would show more signs of depression like food disorders, or even just depression! I cannot bring myself to understand how someone who was suffering from such a severe illness would then be able to throw it all away at the end and just be 'fine'!

Greta a.k.a According to Greta, is a film about a suicidal girl being thrown to live with her grandparents (or grams as she calls it) because her mom felt that she needs to stay there while her mom patches up things with her relationships.

Greta (played by Hillary Duff from the Lizzie McGuire TV show) is about a girl who was angry with life, and has been contemplating suicidal thoughts.

But her perspective of life changes as she began finding new life living with her grandparents. She began dating when she started work in a restaurant.

I like the way the film show to unfold the mysteries of how Greta behaves the way she behaved. We were told about her childhood, about why she has suicidal thoughts, about how the family became dysfunctional.

Yeah, I do admit that at times, the film may be shallow, or not being too convincing. Yes, some people may say that watching you dad committing suicide won't affect you for life, and it could not be the reason why Greta became like that.

But the fact remains; that what we experience in our childhood will be impressed in our life and it will affect us throughout our adolescence and right into our adulthood.

Regarding Hillary Duff, I think this is a good break from her Lizzie era. However, I think some people will never shake off the idea that she will always be Lizzie, and that she can't act to be someone other than that.

All in all, a decent film, recommended to everyone who likes films that are not too intellectual, and at the same time not to cheesy.

I'll keep this short. The acting wasnt good at all from any of the cast really. the cinematography was just a D- all around. The plot wasnt really interesting in any way either. Also i thought it was really weird how in the last ten minutes of the movie greta's mom arrives at her parents house to send her to a bootcamp and they get into a big fight and the grandfather and her boyfriend agree that Greta WONT be going to this camp and she will stay at their house and that her mom will be joining them so that "the family can get to know each other..." better. This seemed like the only conflict that could have been interesting in the context of this movie but right after the fight and they leave the mom there, the next cut is Greta, her mom, and Grandma looking at old pictures and laughing together and then the movie ends. like what? you didnt explore this at all? like That should have been the movie instead of all the uninteresting, disengaging, and honestly, extremely dull things that they did turn into this terrible movie. I wouldnt recommend this movie to anyone. 0/10 stars.

In the movie Greta Hilary Duff has definitely step up from her usual squeaky clean teen movie. She plays Greta a sixteen year old who is a trip without the luggage. Her mother is on her third marriage and decides its time for Greta to spend some time with her grandparents much to her dismay. She is confident and smart but you can tell through the movie that she is searching for something. That something that she gets is with is first love with Julie(Evan Ross) she seems to be into it but her grandparents seem to have a problem with his skin color and criminal past. This bothers them when Greta is trying to find ways to kill herself and she has disrupted their lives in the first place. Her grandparents after awhile realize she needs love from them, but also her mother who is too busy with her marriage at the beginning of the movie. This movies show problems that can occur from interracial relationships.

This movie shows how parents can be neglectful and not see that their children are asking for help without really saying it. And how a little change in the environment can make a whole lot of difference. It tells a story about how color shouldn't matter when it comes to love. This is in my opinion Hilary Duff's best movie so far she actually shows real emotions and has problems that all teens can relate to in one way or another.

Sometimes you're just in the mood to watch a really really, really really really bad movie. You know the kind that you can watch while doing laundry, putting on a hideous facemask and doozing off. But how to choose a bad flick in a huge pool of awfulness? Keyword: Hilary Duff. Admit it, in shame when no one else is around, it's always fun to watch good old Hil skipping around town, being a total geek and suddenly turning into Cinderella and other really important stuff. But even more fun than watching Hilary being a good girl, is Hilary Duff being a bad girl. Fine feature: Greta.

Greta introduces a 17 year old confused and suicidal girl who makes her mothers live miserable and gets send off to her grandparents for the summer. She meets a boy and falls in love. So far so good. It's a simple story that might work out good if this movie wasn't trying so hard. It's just one cliché after the other and totally over the top. For example, Hilary acts real hard to be this dark, sinister girl but it's totally not believable. Too much eyeliner, Gothic tees and foul language has to convince the audience that this girl is trouble. She want to shock her poor grandpa and grandma with all things possible and it helps that her love interest is of African-American descent and, even worse, an ex con.

Now where have we seen this before? Ah yes, Crazy/Beautiful starring a lovely Kisten Dunst and hansome Jay Hernandez. Same storyline, except that this movie is actually good. Kirsten really is a troubled teenager who destroys everyone and everything around her, and most important herself. Her father can't handle her and wants to send her to bootcamp. Jay as Carlos is the love of her life and tries to get her on the right path. Kirsten and Jay have major chemistry and the acting is great. Greta just made me laugh all the time, the movie is a big parody on itself.

So pretty please Hilary, stay away from 'dramatic' movies and stick to the genre that made you a star, simple romcoms with a hint of Lizzy.