A review of "Bloomington"

NERD NOSTALGIA: A review of “Bloomington”

By: Brian Cotnoir

     What the hell movie, I thought we had a deal? I was going to watch you then you were going to be bad and then I was going to write a negative review about how bad of a movie you were, but then you stab me in the back by actually being good. This isn’t what I signed up for, movie. The reviews on Netflix that you were “creepy” and that I should “avoid at all costs”. I thought I was setting myself up for another “Room in Rome”, but no you just had to go and be a freaking good movie. Now instead of wasting my time writing a negative review about you I have to write something positive because you were so good. How dare you movie; you should be ashamed of yourself.                           

So the name of the film I’m reviewing this week is called “Bloomington”. “Bloomington” is the story of a former child actress named Jackie who leaves the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and goes off to college in hopes of finding success there. She finds it very difficult to adjust to life at college because so many students just want to ask her about the show she was on and all Jackie really wants to do is to have a normal life, which a lot of people keep trying to deny her. Her classmates are all jealous of her because they think she’s better than the rest of them because she was on a TV show. And her mom is just this unbelievable controlling b!tch who just wants her daughter to give up her college career so she can go back to Hollywood to be an actress and make money. While at college she befriends her psychology professor, Mrs. Stark. Mrs. Stark has an infamous reputation at the school for seducing young students and her newest plaything just so happens to be Jackie. Over the course of the film we see Jackie and Mrs. Stark’s relationship become more and more close and we also can see the challenges they face as a student and professor trying to hide their secret romance. Then one day Jackie gets a call from her old agent about a movie role based on the television show she used to be on. Now Jackie must decide between her college career and her new relationship or to go back to her old career as an actress.                                        

Sarah Stouffer (R) is a great actress

     One thing I really like about this film is the acting of the actress Sarah Stouffer, who plays the role of Jackie. Over the course of the film we see Jackie’s character evolve from this quiet shy girl who just wants to escape her past and start a new to this girl who learned so much about life from that one special person and how she applies the new things she’s learned in life to the old parts of her life (i.e. her acting career). Her character is just so very likable and for the most part her character just goes with the flow of things and it works out for her. We see the difficulty she has adjusting to her new life as a college student because so many people know her as a television actress and we see the stress of her various relationships with her classmates, her mother, and Mrs. Stark and these make for some great character development scenes for Jackie. We also see the difficulty of her being a Hollywood star that is in a gay relationship and how she has to keep things like that secret from the media because it could have a negative effect on her career and her marketability as an actress.          

Allison McAtee, plays the
sensual Professor Mrs. Stark

Then there is the character Mrs. Stark who is played by actress Allison McAtee. Mrs. Stark is a good character but she does have some faults. She’s very seductive in this film, but maybe a bit too much seductive. I mean just the way she talks he kind of sounds like she belongs in an adult film. For example, there is a large portion of the film early on were all the students talk about how afraid they are of Mrs. Stark and how they think she’s scary but she doesn’t come off as scary; not even a little bit. I mean she has no signs of evil and nasty she just has signs of raw sensuality and strong sexual desires. She is a very driven person, who always finds a way to get what she wants.  Her profession as a psychology professor at a college only increases her chances of getting what she wants because not only is she in a position of power of her younger students, but she also uses little mental tricks to insure she gets what she wants.  Mrs. Stark comes off as very nurturing at points in the film.  We see scenes where she cares for Jackie, and at times she acts more like a mother than a lover towards her.  

I am talking down to you!

    However, when Mrs. Stark doesn’t get what she wants she can be a total b!tch, and she becomes very hostile towards other people.  For a person who is supposed to represent and intelligent professional she does do a lot of things that make her seem kind of dumb.  There’s a scene where she comes across Jackie in the library and then begins to fondle her claiming that it’s all part of a Psychology experiment, despite the fact that at any point the librarian or another student come accidentally walk over and see what they are doing.  She does not like the idea that Jackie wants to keep their relationship a secret (even though, she could lose her job as a College Professor for having a relationship with one of her students).   She as a character is very driven, and I don’t think they could have gotten a better actress than Allison McAtee to play the role.                                 

   However, there are a few minor faults with the film that I do feel need addressing.  For one thing there are a few scenes in the film that just seem to come out of nowhere and then end abruptly I’m not sure if that was the intended purpose or if those scenes were just edited that poorly.  Another fault I had with the film is that I think Mrs. Stark seduced Jackie way too early in the film.  I mean, two minutes after they first meet is pretty short to get a person back to your house for sex. 

Despite its minor faults, “Bloomington” is actually a wonderful drama with well developed-characters.  The film is made with much higher standards than a film like “Room in Rome”; it does not depend on nudity or graphic sex scenes to get its viewers, but rather interesting characters and a solid story, and all the sexual tension is really left up to your imagination.  I would say that most people would enjoy this film.  It’s actually one of the better Drama’s that I’ve seen in probably the past 5 years.