“Suburban Girl” (2007) is a hidden gem among the catalogs of both Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alec Baldwin. At first blush, I thought they must be miscast even for a cross-generational romantic drama, but they match well.
Pursuing the dream
Baldwin brings experienced charm to the role of super-editor Archie Knox, who has a whole NYC brownstone to himself. Gellar softens her “Buffy” edge to smoothly slide into the role of Brett Eisenberg. She’s one of those young editors climbing a posh yet vicious book-publishing world that might be the exclusive realm of screens.
Soon after this, “Being Erica” would air, letting viewers further think book editor is a career normal people can have.
“Suburban Girl” (2007)
Director: Marc Klein
Writers: Marc Klein (screenplay), Melissa Bank (book)
Stars: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alec Baldwin, Maggie Grace
Also at this time, Baldwin was on “30 Rock.” So a line about the humorlessness of Hollywood sitcoms is either a light jab or kismet. Written and directed by Marc Klein, “Suburban Girl” mashes up two stories from Melissa Bank’s “The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing” (1999).
In retrospect, I can see the mashup nature, but it fits with life dramas. Brett lacks confidence in her editing skills, and Archie’s belief in her pushes her over the top. But there’s also a side thread about her dad’s (James Naughton) health.
People are well-ingrained into Brett’s world but they remain side characters: “Lost’s” Maggie Grace is her best friend, and Marin Ireland and Amad Jackson are her gossipy office mates.
The right focus
“Suburban Girl” exists in a lived-in, populated world but wisely zeroes in on Archie and Brett. Both actors project a slight, appealing sadness that could turn to happiness if the right buttons are pushed.
Their problems are standard stuff: He’s an alcoholic, she’s treated with kid gloves by her father. The age gap is important, and it informs the ending, but in a thoughtful rather than superficial way.
Brett is a perfect role for Gellar at this point in her career. We saw Buffy forced to grow up too fast, so it’s not gross that SMG is dating an older man. (Heck, she dated the principal in Season 7.) At the same time, she is young enough to go through a coming-of-age arc.
Klein, a veteran rom-com writer in his only directorial role, gives “Suburban Girl” a confident touch. Further trappings are in place like slick NYC streets and a soundtrack featuring Sara Bareilles and Badly Drawn Boy. Conversations are peppered with literary references, but charmingly, Archie gets some of them wrong and Brett calls him out.
“Suburban Girl” could drift into being pretentious, but Baldwin and Gellar make Archie and Brett into people living real lives. I like the quick detail of Brett living in an NYC apartment owned by her family; she’s the current caretaker. Most films simply have it both ways (a young person is “struggling,” but glamorously so) without explaining the financials.
Worth tracking down
“Suburban Girl” doesn’t break out from the genre, but it has smart dialog, everyone is easy to like, and the reality-stretching bits are plausible enough.
The film’s biggest problem was off-screen. Few people – even SMG fans — knew this film existed, or got a fair chance to see it if they did.
There must be some behind-the-scenes reason why “Suburban Girl” didn’t get a wide mainstream release. Weirdly, problems like this hampered an inordinate number of Gellar’s films after “Buffy.” I wonder if that’s part of why she largely abandoned films for TV voice acting and family life.
If they missed it 14 years ago, SMG fans should track “Suburban Girl” down. It’s not streaming at the moment, but a DVD can be found fairly cheap.