Bad writing, bad acting, the worst being from the lead character played by Nicholas D'Agosto. He plays an oddball geeky kid with a stutter and couldn't even nail the that.
This is one of those films that tries to take place in that upper crust world of the middle class where surrealism is abundant in everyone's life and it's as though every mundane occurrence in their daily lives is like something in a movie but they just weren't pulling it off. It's not quite the feel of The Royal Tenenbaums but it's not a far cry from it. Nothing makes any sense or has any connection, the romance is probably the least sensible element of the story which is sad considering this is supposed to be an offbeat romance coming of age type of film.
Bottom line is, the entertainment value just isn't there and the lead was cast with an actor that can't act. The dialog is attempting to be smart, witty and quaint but fails miserably. This is nothing more than a recycled concept and while the execution delivers the effect desired, the writing just isn't competent or the least bit artistic.
Why they chose such a horrible actor for the lead is beyond me but as usual, I chalk that up to the mafia that is Hollywood where friends cast friends or cast their cousin's kid or the producer casts their own kid etc. He wasn't competent in 75% of his scenes and a complete failure in regards to delivering a believable stutter. The IMDb ratings for this film have been doctored.
I guess maybe some people liked it because it was a train wreck. It certainly wasn't funny, it certainly wasn't smart, it certainly wasn't artistic and it certainly wasn't well written. There genuinely no redeeming qualities to this film and I am in awe that it was actually green lighted. It's as though the lead actor wrote it and his writing is even worse than his performance. A love story needs to at least make sense and be connected. I suppose the writer thought trying to make things weird would be interpreted as creative and smart but it's not. The Korean bf and son are a prime example of this. Just what the hell were these film makers thinking???