Fort Tilden (2014) Reviews

• That's what's so funny

  basil19842014-04-09

  If ever you wondered what happened to the 'valley girl' ethic, rest assured that it is alive and well in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Harper (Bridey Elliott) & Allie (Clare McNulty) are 20-something best friends whose parental affluence hasn't really required them to mature in the years since college. This comedy follows their ill-conceived attempt at being thrifty as they choose to bike (rather than taxi) across Brooklyn to a Rockaway Beach party. These are two of the most vapid and shallow characters ever portrayed as protagonists - they don't learn a thing as they spend hundreds of dollars during their 10 mile odyssey - and that's what's so funny. As for winning the SXSW Grand Jury Prize, I can totally see the comparisons with, festival darling, Lena Dunham's 'Girls' - which is a guilty pleasure of mine - but, where Dunham's wit and goofy characters coax empathy, the 'Fort Tilden' characters have no apparent redeeming qualities. I laughed a bit but this is no Patsy & Edina or Romy & Michele; I got more than my fill of Harper, Allie, and their equally self-centered world.

• Flat Tedium

  tigerfish502014-10-20

  'Fort Tilden' is the tale of a ten-mile road trip by a couple of tiresome Brooklyn trust fund brats, who head for the beach to hook up with a pair of charmless dudes. Their airhead odyssey consists of lame exchanges and minor fiascoes involving various acquaintances and strangers, so the adventure soon turns into a plodding marathon by bicycle, cab and foot. The 'heroines' are portrayed as spineless selfish simpletons, and although the film is clearly intended to be a comedy, it's short on laughs, wit or interest. The actresses struggle gamely with the pedestrian material, but their characters' feckless behavior and whiny griping leaves one hoping a truck will squash them into roadkill at every intersection. When they finally meet their romantic prospects on a gray windswept seashore, the encounter is just another flaccid flop in a series of screw-ups.

• Just Watch It

  sbchurchill2017-12-05

  It's a good movie. Coffee scene alone is worth it. You won't be bummed that you spent time watching it. What more do you want? Okay, so IMDb wants five lines of text or they won't publish my review. I watched it twice to catch certain lines and nuances. Just watch it. It's good. Okay, they need another line of text...

• Interesting, original film - combining comedy and realism in an unusually effective manner

  Dr_Mark_ODoherty2017-02-07

  Nowadays there is a trend of portraying protagonists in films as superficial and vapid; and indeed this is the way society seems to be going at the moment; shallowness as a defense mechanism, to cope with today's complex and confusing situations regarding sexuality, courtship, civil unrest, globalization, poverty, violent extremism etc. So no wonder that the new 'elite' of our age - like Harper and Allie - are totally impervious of showing any kind of empathy to the world at large (except a couple of kittens, before ditching them in a trash can) and not learning a thing during their turbulent 10 mile odyssey to Fort Tilden. But this make the movie very plausible - that in reality there is hardly any personality development at all in people. Most people are not Shakespearian figures with great redeeming qualities (unlike the typical Hollywood protagonist), but rather souls like Harper and Allie, being content in their self-centered world and convinced that they are people of the highest integrity, and not seeing any reason to change or reflect. But still, nonetheless, the relationship between the two is quite dynamic, and seems to even thrive due to the challenges they experience on their odyssey; they even become almost likable due to their vulnerability; like the funny scene at the beach when they compete with the two teen-age girls for the affection of the guys by letting their nude breasts hang out in a very unflattering light; ending in Harper's crude attempt of seduction, almost sexually assaulting the guy, who it turns out is still a minor... Anyway, I cannot recommend this movie highly enough!

• Loved it!

  ReganRebecca2016-12-16

  Reading other people's reviews of the film I can clearly see this movie isn't for everyone. But it was absolutely a movie for me! The film is about two recent grads: best friends and roommates Harper and Allie. Meeting two cute guys at a performance neither of one want to be at they make loose plans to meet up with the guys at Fort Tilden the following day where they plan to hook up with them. The following day they set off on their bikes and of course everything that could go wrong does go wrong. Let's get one thing straight: the women are straight up selfish, egotistical, a**holes. Behind their cutesy faux-kind personalities they snipe at one another and others and the more their plans go awry the more their facade drops. They are anti-heroines in the vein of Charlize Theron's Mavis in 'Young Adult'. If you liked that movie, you'll love this one.