‘Critics are the worst kind of human...’
Despite the fact that I found her character in Community pretty annoying, everything that Gillian Jacobs has done since then has been gold. From Judd Apatow’s vastly underrated Netflix comedy Love to Mike Birbliglia’s charming love letter to improve Don’t Think Twice, Jacobs has a knack for picking interesting roles and the kind of flawed characters that would make a star out of equivalent male actors, and yet true stardom eludes her. I Used to Go Here is another step towards Jacobs receiving the plaudits that she deserves, and it’s a thoroughly enjoyable step at that.
When burgeoning writer Kate (Jacobs) is invited by her former professor David (Jemaine Clement) to give a speech at her alma mater, she soon finds herself becoming embroiled in the lives of the students.
It’s a simple concept, and one that is explored fully in the skinny 80 minute running time, but writer/director Kris Rey injects this well-worn premise with warmth and humour. It never feels disingenuous or unrealistic that Kate, a 35-year-old writer on the verge of being published, should forge a connection with a group of youngsters barely out of their teenage years, and this is a testament to the quality of the writing and of the performances.
Clement is an utter joy as always, taking a worrying amount of pleasure in his role as the stereotypical sleazy college professor, but it is Jacobs who anchors the film, wringing every last drop out of a role that could easily have been homogenous and generic on the page.
I Used to Go Here follows in the tradition of mumblecore directors like Mark Duplass and Joe Swanberg, but it does so in a way that is just a little more stylish, a little more Hollywood, than those guys, and Rey’s movie is all the better for it. An understated gem.