Damsels in Distress - C

Rated PG-13, 99 minutes

 "Damsels in Distress" is the new comedy from independent filmmaker Whit Stillman ("The Last Days of Disco") about the love lives of several intelligent college women led by Violet (Greta Gerwig) who attempt to somehow change the immature atmosphere at their school. The slow-paced, talky film has some charming moments but is otherwise a bit trite. Stillman is a decent filmmaker with an unconventional taste in humor, and "Damsels" is no different, which both helps and hurts the film; if you're a fan of Stillman, you'll likely enjoy the movie, while the rest of us may find it a bit of a bore. It also doesn't help that the film is largely miscast, with Gerwig ("Arthur") attractive but not strong enough to carry the film. It also doesn't help that most of the other girls are prettier or more interesting, particularly Analeigh Tipton ("Crazy Stupis Love"), as more of a free-spirit who gets involved with several men, including Adam Brody of "The OC" fame, as bland as ever here. Stillman tries to cast an ironic shadow on the fact that love is causing the women to promote the very shallow atmosphere they supposedly hate so much, but you may not care that much in the end. My favorite part of "Damsels in Distress" was a brief sight gag that had the word prevention falling out of a sign for a Suicide Prevention Center so that it only reads "Suicide Center." If only the rest of the film were as fun or interesting.