This film serves no constructive or productive purpose. Writer/director Steve Berra might have thought he had a good reason for telling this story. For all I know, there was such a reason, at least at some point in production. After watching The Good Life, however, I can find no justification or rationale for its existence. It's well enough made for what it is, but it never answers the most fundamental questions about itself. Why should people watch this movie? Why should they care about anything that happens? What is the viewer supposed to get out of it?Jason Prayer (Mark Webber) is a 20something kid living in Nebraska. He's worked the last 7 years as a gas station attendant. He's also the main support for his broken down mother (Deborah Rush) and Gus (Harry Dean Stanton), the owner of the old movie theater where Jason also works. Gus suffers from Alzheimer's or just has a profound aversion to pants. Either way, he's even more dependent on Jason than his mom. Jason is harassed by Tad Tokas (Chris Klein), another 20something Nebraskan who's so angry at life he can barely contain it, and romanced by Frances (Zooey Deschannel), a pretty young woman who latches onto him like a lovesick lamprey and then breaks his heart to soothe her upper middle class unhappiness. Jason also suffers from an immune disorder that causes all of his hair to fall out. Oh, and his dad just died and left him a present which Jason refused to open. Needless to say, The Good Life is not exactly a laugh riot.There's something vaguely resembling a plot at work here but honestly, this story is about how Jason's life sucks and keeps on sucking until falling into an ending that's supposed to teach us something about the resiliency of the human spirit or some such claptrap. Outside of a skimpy, unformed and ill thought out analysis of the sociological importance of college football in Nebraska, which comes off as the remnants of a more significant element in an early draft of the script, The Good Life does nothing but ask us to genuflect before the quiet desperation of Jason Prayer. To which I can only respond...why should I give a crap?It's a simple query that far too few indy filmmakers ask themselves. Why should I give a crap about Jason Prayer? Why should I give a crap about how his life has turned out? Why should I give a crap that he's unhappy? Jason takes care of his mom and Gus, proving he's a basically decent person, but so what? Why should I care more about Jason than Andrew (Patrick Fugit), his friend and fellow gas station attendant? Particularly when Andrew demonstrates a sense of humor about the poor state of his life, compared to Jason's sullen and somber stoicism. Why should I care more about Jason than the tormenting Tad? Even though Tad is cast as the villain and has far less time on screen, Chris Klein powerfully demonstrates though Tad's disturbingly aggressive behavior that his life sucks and he's just as unhappy or more so than Jason.Writer/director Berra failed to do the most basic sort of storytelling to try and make me people care about Jason. The most obvious way to generate sympathy or empathy for such a character is to show the audience what he's given up or lost to end up where he is. It's not enough to stick Jason with two menial jobs and a couple of near helpless adults. You've got to let the audience see the opportunities Jason has lost by being dragged down with such responsibilities. It's that unfairness, that injustice, that mirror image of the audience's own lost possibilities that people will respond to. There's none of that in this movie. Yes, Jason's life is hard and disappointing. So what? There's never a second when you get the impression that Jason could ever be more than what he is if his life had turned out differently. I'm sure Berra felt some connection to his main character. He never builds such a connection between Jason and the folks watching The Good Life.There is a point where the lovely Zooey Deschannel takes her shirt off and a topless Zooey would have been all the reason in the world for this film to exist. Her hands cover up her breasts the entire time though, which makes it feel like Berra is just screwing with viewers.Outside of an awkward and cumbersome plot thread about Judy Garland, The Good Life is written with a certain amount of intelligence. The acting is perfectly fine and the direction is unobjectionable. I just can't think of any reason why anyone should spend their time and money to watch this film. There's nothing for anyone to get out of it.

The arc of the plot is much like THE RIVER KING. Though entirely different as far as genre and intended audience, both movies do a very good job at introducing a multitude of characters and potential conflict and then shamelessly just ignore any attempt at resolution, be it good or bad, moral or immoral, clear or ambiguous, etc.Having said so much, TGL is the more highbrow of the movies. The acting, shots, script are excellent and for about an hour this viewer was very involved with the main character and engrossed in his conflicts (indeed, our protagonist is the focus point in every scene, except for the football coach TV blurbs that serve as the backdrop of the setting).There are multiple, well conceived and introduced plot conflicts: coming of age, love interest, parental, Oedipal, antagonist, death (even, though not-so-well, sexuality) just to name a few. Plot conflicts do not have to be resolved, life is not so neat. They can be compromised, contained, accepted, condoned, absorbed (name your own disposition!). But they must be treated in some form or manner. Mr. Berra has made a movie of interest and we can look forward to more. Next time, however, he should finish his film.

I've seen this movie compared to Donnie Darko several times, most recently in another comment here on IMDb, however, they're nothing alike. Donnie Darko is a beautiful, thought-provoking film, while this movie just falls flat. It tries so very hard to be deep and depressing, that it ends up almost a parody of itself. The quasi-philosophical mumblings of the main character sound like they where stolen from a manga and none of the characters seem even remotely like actual people.My advice, watch "The Go-Getter" instead. It too has a young man who's lost both a parent and his way, it too has Zooey Deschanel, and unlike The Good Life, it has humor and it doesn't try to be something it's not.

Hell yes it's the new Donnie Dark, but the only problem is, it's a million times better. Mark Webber is unbelievable. UN-BE-LEIVABLE. I've been a fan of his since snow day. This movie is one of those movies in ten years every teenager will cite as being one of their favorite films. I guarantee that. I guarantee it. Jason Prayer (mark Webber's character) will be as famous as Donnie Darko. I attended the salt lake city screening of the movie and the crowd stood up and cheered when it was over. Steve Berra will be up there with any and every serious filmmaker that ever put an eye up to the camera. If you were looking for a new classic in modern day cinema and found the good life, I'd say you hit the jackpot. JP