A Case of You (film)

Plot

Sam, a young New York City author, is dissatisfied with his life. Although his novelization of the blockbuster film Teen Vampire is popular he does not want to write the other novelizations his agent Alan urges; Sam suffers from writer's block with his own work, however. He is infatuated with Birdie, a street artist and barista at the local coffee shop, but does not know how to meet her.

After his roommate Eliot suggests checking Birdie's Facebook profile, Sam decides to pretend that he shares the interests she lists on her profile. He begin to learn how to play the guitar and cook French cuisine, and buys books by Walt Whitman and songs by Joan Baez. After pretending to accidentally meet at a comedy club Birdie mentioned online the two become friends and partners at a ballroom-dance class, and Sam begins to write a novel based on their relationship.

To spend more time with her Sam pretends to share Birdie's other interests, including pedicures and bourbon. They begin to fall in love, and Birdie accompanies Sam, Eliot, and Eliot's girlfriend, Ashley to a spiritual retreat where they sleep together for the first time. Although Sam enjoys spending time with Birdie he finds participating in her many interests to be difficult, and is intimidated by her skill in such areas as caricature, singing, and rock climbing.

After Birdie tells Sam that she loves him and mentions her parents' plan to attend their impending dance recital, an insecure Sam discourages her interest in him. At a pitch meeting Alan and another agent praise Sam's novel as a superb portrayal of a pathetic "eunuch" who, after foolishly breaking up with his girlfriend, is doomed to remain alone. Realizing that he has made a mistake, Sam rushes to the recital where Birdie is about to perform with another partner. He states his love for her and confesses to using her Facebook profile to adjust his public persona. She tells him that she knew all the time, even adding items to see whether he would respond. They begin to dance together.

Cast

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 44%, based on 18 reviews, with an average rating of 4.6/10. Metacritic gives the film a score of 38 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Andy Webster of The New York Times states in his review, "While this unrelentingly midtempo movie milks Brooklyn for its chic, it manages to denude it of its color. A moment of dramatic anger from Sam feels forced and abrupt, while — surprise — the climax involves a dash to a joyous reunion. The filmmakers sought the rights to Joni Mitchell’s classic song A Case of You; to her credit, she wouldn’t hand them over, perhaps because the tune is imbued with deep, honest feelings." Film critic Dennis Harvey of Variety magazine states in his review, "A lot of interesting, funny performers aren’t very interesting or funny in director Kat Corio’s A Case of You. Co-penned by thesps Keir O’Donnell and Justin Long with the latter’s sibling Christian Long, this surprisingly bland indie version of the generic mainstream romantic comedy has talent to burn, none of it put to good use. It’s not awful, but the paucity of fresh ideas or humor makes this overly safe first writing effort for all three scribes innocuous to the point of instant forgettability. Limited IFC theatrical release on Nov. 8 (simultaneous with VOD launch) is unlikely to make much of a dent, but cast names should drive decent home-sales biz."

Release

A Case of You was released theatrically on April 21, 2013.

Home Releases

A Case of You was released on DVD on February 4, 2014. Amazon and Netflix released the film on February 4, 2014. Redbox released the film on February 25, 2014.