This review will contain some spoilers.
I have loved AJ and Aly's music and movies and television work ever since I was a kid. I have this loyal following of them, maybe because I've always found them relatable and because of how much their music impacted me when I was younger. Now 22, I have watched their adult ventures when I have the time, i.e. Grace Unplugged when it's nowhere near a film I would normally want to watch. I anxiously anticipated the release of 78violet's Hothouse that was leaked and never officially released.
I bought this movie to support the sisters and also to see if more of the stuff they produce as real "adults" would be something I'd enjoy. This movie gave you a real sense of what it is like to be extremely close to another female, as a female. It's a bond between sisters and a bond between best friends alike, and the movie does a really good job of giving you the realistic feel of life, kind of in the style of Girls or Love, with a little bit of a dreamy touch to top it off.
I just don't understand where the autobiographical story was supposed to take us. I think there were a lot of good moments in this movie. I really do. But I feel like there was no character development. I feel like nothing really happened, even though a lot did. I just wasn't invited to feel anything about it. It was weird watching a movie that seemed so like real life and being so detached from it. I feel like some of the humor was over the top, like the * on the floor joke and some of the dialogue. I curse like a sailor, I love gross humour, but it just felt awkward here and not genuine in the slightest. That's it. That's the problem. The movie is aiming to be so organic but it just doesn't feel genuine.
I think it was a beautiful movie, shot well and appropriately for the feel that seemed to be aimed for. I'll probably watch it a few more times to see if I warm up to it anymore - since I purchased it, I might as well. But I just don't see where this movie was supposed to take the viewer. Maybe that was the point? I don't know.
Also, I think that a big theme was for the girls to realize that even if their work wasn't wildly, massively appreciated, that they should continue to produce art anyway.
I was so disappointed when Hothouse never came out. I've waited years for new music from the sisters, googling 'aly and aj michalka new music' maybe once a year when I remembered how much I missed their songwriting.
After the Hothouse video was released I was completely ecstatic and so happy to know I was going to get to hear new music. In the end, I listened to the leaked stuff after it became apparent they weren't releasing. I know all the words to every song and even know how to play some of the songs myself.
I'm confused by the sister's actions in comparison to this running theme in the movie. I know I'm not the only fan like this. I wouldn't even consider myself a die hard one, but I'd still buy albums and maybe get to a show if there was every one by me. There are still fans who would support them. It might not be the big crowd they probably hope for, but I'm pretty sure at this point we've proved how reliable we all are over the years. In my opinion, a following that sincerely wants to be there is better than a hit single. Aly and AJ should do whatever the hell they want to do, regardless of who is watching. If that's staying out of music or not pursuing more films, awesome, and if it's getting back in, that's great too. I just hope they realize they do have people who appreciate what they do.
