Greener Grass

There is a useful directness to Greener Grass, a comedy shaped by Jocelyn DeBoer with a firm understanding of its audience. In Greener Grass, Jocelyn DeBoer provides the anchor while Dawn Luebbe introduces a contrasting energy. Without revealing later complications, Greener Grass opens from this situation: Suburban soccer moms find themselves constantly competing against each other in their personal lives as their kids settle their differences on the field. The resulting its 1h 35m running time feels most convincing whenever Greener Grass trusts behaviour more than explanation.

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Performance is the clearest human asset in Greener Grass, beginning with the committed centre provided by Jocelyn DeBoer. Dawn Luebbe keeps Greener Grass from settling into one emotional register by approaching the material from another angle. The presence of Beck Bennett gives the surrounding world of Greener Grass additional texture without distracting from the main line. When Jocelyn DeBoer holds on a reaction, Greener Grass communicates more efficiently than another explanatory exchange could manage.

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A close look at Greener Grass reveals how performer rhythm carries information that the dialogue wisely leaves alone. Under the production banner of Gulp Splash Productions, Greener Grass treats performer rhythm as part of its storytelling grammar. Comic timing built around character gives Greener Grass a stronger sense of place within its United States context. The technical departments of Greener Grass remain coordinated, so polish supports involvement instead of creating distance.

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The thematic thread that gives Greener Grass weight is embarrassment, status and the gap between confidence and reality. Jocelyn DeBoer grounds that thread so Greener Grass never has to choose completely between entertainment and reflection. A recurring focus on the central character gives the ideas in Greener Grass enough dramatic pressure to matter. Under Jocelyn DeBoer, Greener Grass works best when viewers are invited to notice the theme before any character explains it.

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Rather than summarise every event in Greener Grass, it is enough to note how Suburban places the central character under growing pressure. Jocelyn DeBoer gives that tension a face, which stops Greener Grass from becoming a mechanical sequence of developments. Jocelyn DeBoer uses an important relationship to widen the stakes of Greener Grass without losing sight of the original problem. Where a difficult choice becomes predictable, Greener Grass recovers interest through the consequences surrounding it.

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The directorial personality of Greener Grass comes from Jocelyn DeBoer remaining careful about tone and generally effective when the premise invites excess. Within Greener Grass, Jocelyn DeBoer repeatedly favours readable choices over attention seeking flourishes. That discipline explains why the film delivers more often than it misses in Greener Grass rather than appearing only in isolated scenes. Where Greener Grass becomes less convincing, the middle loses a little urgency, and the loss of control is noticeable without becoming fatal.

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For comedy fans who respond to personality and timing, Greener Grass is ultimately a likeable film whose strengths survive its limitations. Its most persuasive combination brings Jocelyn DeBoer together with comic timing built around character under the direction of Jocelyn DeBoer. The fact that the middle loses a little urgency prevents Greener Grass from being entirely seamless. Even with that reservation, Greener Grass has a clear point of view and enough genuine feeling to justify the journey.