“I Used To Go Here” Movie Review by Josh Davis : Pop Culture Leftovers

“I Used To Go Here” Movie Review by Josh Davis

September 6, 2020 6:33 pm |

Following the launch of her new novel, 35-year-old writer Kate is invited to speak at her alma matter by her former professor. After accepting the invitation, Kate finds herself deeply enmeshed in the lives of a group of college students.

For a film with two very talented and funny leads in Gillian Jacobs and Jemaine Clement, “I Used to Go Here” is a surprisingly average and run-of-the-mill comedy/drama.

Jacobs’ turn in the Netflix show “Love,” as alcoholic and sex addict Mickey, deserved much more praise and acclaim than it got. Not to mention, she was one of the highlights of “Community,” the show that launched Dan Harmon (the creator of “Rick and Morty”) and also included standouts like Alison Brie, Donald Glover and Joel McHale.

Clement, meanwhile, is generally one of the more unique and funny voices in film and TV, from the indie “Eagle vs Shark,” to critically acclaimed and cult classic projects like “Flight of the Concords,” “What We Do in the Shadows” and “Legion.”

In “I Used to Go Here,” Jacobs plays Kate, a writer who just published her first book, which is turning out to be a flop. She’s invited to speak at her alma mater by her former professor, David, played by Clement.

Kate, along with a tanking new novel, is also dealing with a recent breakup and struggling to get back on her feet.

David gets Kate a room at a bed and breakfast with a moody innkeeper (character actor Cindy Gold), but she ends up spending more time across the street at her old college house reminiscing, partying and generally hanging out with students 20 years years younger than her.

There are few scenes loosely reminiscent in tone and substance of “Garden State,” including a drug-fueled day trip to a nearby lake where everyone swims in their underwear, because that apparently happens a lot in movies.

Kate later becomes jealous of April Barnhardt, a young, talented female author played by Hannah Marks (“Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency”), and then sleeps with April’s ex-boyfriend, Hugo Gaffney (Josh Wiggins, “Giant Little Ones”).

David, it turns out, is also kind of a shitty person and is sleeping with April, who happens to be his student.

Kate and the gang find this out while sneaking into David’s home at night and spying on him, although things somehow turn out OK and they all sit around and drink tea afterward.

In probably the funniest scene in the movie, the gang accidentally strands Tall Brandon (newcomer Brandon Daley) in Hugo’s backyard at night. Awkward and, obviously, extremely tall, he panics when the backyard lights come on, but ends up having a weirdly romantic evening with Hugo’s mom.

All of this is supposed to lend some needed character growth for Kate, although that’s not something the audience ever actually gets to see.

So the message of the film is … muddy.

And that’s perhaps the real theme here, that life is muddy and messy and no one has it all figured out, whether you’re a college student, a 35-year-old author, or an aging professor. That’s all great, but there many are other movies that deliver that message better.

“I Used to Go Here” is a middle-of-the-road movie with good but not great performances, some laughs and some drama, and lots of awkward moments played for those spaces in between.

PCL Rating: Taste It

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: FRESH 🍅