Candy coloured suburbs, adult braces, golf carts, and weird humour. What more could a girl ask for? Allow me to introduce you to this loveably weird suburban satire, Greener Grass (2019), written and directed by Dawn Luebbe and Jocelyn DeBoer.
Dawn Luebbe and Joecelyn DeBoer co-wrote, directed, and starred in the film. Their directorial debut, Greener Grass, brings you into their strange, pastel-coloured world with a vibe similar to The Stepford Wives. The adults all wear braces and act overly polite; there is a sinister atmosphere behind every interaction, yet they all seem to keep their composure.
The basic premise revolves around two soccer moms, Jill and Lisa, who are constantly competing against each other to have the more “perfect life”. They compete over every little thing, from their husbands to their pools. Right off the bat, without giving spoilers, things get weird, and they only get increasingly weirder as the story moves forward. To give you a basic idea of the film’s tone, I’ve added the trailer below.
A hilarious, absurdist take on suburbia through a female lens, this story is unlike anything anyone could expect. I think this film is entirely underrated. It holds strong through its wonderfully bizarre acting, writing, sets, and costumes.
The movie is reminiscent of other suburban satires like Serial Mom (1994), The Stepford Wives (1975), and takes a lot of visual inspiration from the suburb of Edward Scissorhands (1990). While there are some similarities, this film remains quite distinct from its inspiration. Director/writers Luebbe and Deboer’s feature debut does an amazing job of creating a silly, bizarre, and creepy world with the strangest eerie twists and turns.
I urge you to dive into their strange little world for 95 minutes and let the weirdness take you in.
If you enjoy learning about new weird movies about girls, then I urge you to check out my previous post about the film May (2003). I hope I was able to introduce you to something new today.
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Till next time, dolls!
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