The Go-Getter

I think there’s a little part in all of us (in some, it might be a big part) that wants to drop everything and hit the open road. That’s exactly what Mercer (Lou Taylor Pucci) does in The Go-Getter, a sweet coming-of-age film set in the deserts of Nevada and California. When Mercer’s mother dies, he goes off in search of his last remaining family member, a half brother he hardly knows. He steals a car to embark on his road trip, and, through cell phone conversations gets to know the owner of the car, played by Zooey Deschanel. In this day and age, it’s hard to imagine a world where someone is as hard to find as Mercer’s brother. But the adventure makes for a good story, and allows Mercer to find himself a little along the way. He has some very odd interactions, with an old flame in Reno (Jena Malone), and his brother’s acquaintances—first a quasi-pornographer and then a pet-store owner. So amid all the drama surrounding the death of a parent and the search for love (Mercer is 19 and desperate to find that lucky lady) is a good dose of laughter as well, at the comedy of life.