Post Grad – The Premise
Post Grad introduces us to Ryden Malby (Alexis Bledel), a driven and equally optimistic college graduate who is preparing to enter the working world. Ryden has it all planned out: an internship with a prestigious publishing house, moving away from home to live in her own apartment in the city, and moving on to the next stage of life with her best friend Adam Davies (Zach Gilford). Unfortunately for Ryden, things quickly start to fall apart post-grad and she is left in a state of confusion before she even knows it. With her job prospects falling through due to the recession, having to move back in with her eccentric family, and complications forming between her and Adam, Ryden finds herself in a kind of summer limbo where nothing is as it should be. Watch it at 123 Movies.
Alexis Bledel Is Ryden Malby
Bledel’s Post Grad character Ryden is not unlike her long-time TV character Rory Gilmore from the popular 90’s drama Gilmore Girls. Ryden is driven with relentless career goals to become a top editor at a big-name publishing house. Not only does she have her plans in place, but she is filled with so much optimism about her future and how her hard work will pay off. We see her character start to crumble when situational circumstances change. Another competing student from her college gets the internship Ryden had coveted and she is subsequently forced to move back home and live with her family. What’s great about Bledel’s character is the seamless way in which she interacts with those around her. She is a likeable character, and like so many young college grads in the real world, we feel for her situation and identity struggle.
Post Grad’s Memorable Characters
Not only is the storyline of Post Grad interesting and relevant to today’s college grads, but the actors involved in bringing this story to life do so with ease and grace. Add an extremely good looking new neighbour into the mix of Ryden’s chaotic new life and we get David Santiago (Rodrigo Santoro). His character provides some much needed balance to the manic storyline and he becomes a kind of escape and release for Ryden as she begins to let go of all her worries. Ryden and David form a unique kind of bond that mirrors the unexpected encounters we have in life when we least expect them. For comic relief we have Ryden’s witty mother (Jane Lynch), a hilarious grandmother (Carol Burnett), a belt-buckle selling father (Michael Keaton), and an adorable little brother (Bobby Coleman). These characters really shape the movie and make it believable amidst all the zany chaos.
Why Post Grad Is Worth Watching
There is something in Post Grad for everyone, be it comedy, drama, love, or friendship. It’s a touching movie in the same way that films such as Garden State and Elizabethtown depict a similar kind of growth with their characters. Bledel is on top form as a charming over-achiever who learns the valuable lesson that sometimes slow and steady wins the race. Careers are worth pushing for, but family, friendships, and love are what will be there along the way and long afterwards.
