Unsurprising matters of interest to a filmmaker in his mid-twenties, but as it turned out wrestling with the idea of having to grow up at some point has remained one of the main themes of Baumbach’s movies. And we get deluded attempts at oneupmanship – Max, who barely moves from his favourite chair, feels superior because he spends all day doing crosswords rather than watching TV. Instead, we get lots of talking – and as this is an indie film from 1995, a lot of pop culture trivia but also other characters criticising all the sitting around listing the Friday The 13th movies. Providing an inspiration to some and a chilling vision of the future to others is Chet (Eric Stoltz), proudly starting his 10th year studying at the college, while also working at the guys’ favourite (‘townie’) bar.Īlmost by definition, this is a film in which very little happens – it’s about young men attempting to keep life on pause. They are Max (Chris Eigeman), who – like all Chris Eigeman characters – is sneering and posh, the anxious Otis (Carlos Jacott) and the dazed-looking Skippy (Jason Wiles), who at least is hanging around to be near his still-at-college girlfriend Miami (Parker Posey*). His own plans to head to Brooklyn evaporate and he ends up staying in a house near campus with his mates. She’s telling him she’s off to Prague for post-grad. The camera slowly wanders across the lawn until it gets to Grover (Josh Hamilton) and his girlfriend Jane (Olivia d’Abo). It starts at a graduation party in the very pretty grounds of what’s clearly a private college. Noah Baumbach’s debut movie is a cautionary tale about taking the opposite approach and staying put. The next two years were an absolute shambles – it turned out I had gone nowhere fast. When I finished university, I left town in a hurry, rushing off to London to get my life started. The mild misadventures of a bunch of preppy slackers

Director Noah Baumbach Stars Josh Hamilton, Chris Eigeman, Olivia d’Abo USA 1995 Language English 1hr 35mins Colour

Kicking and screaming by jordan silver