The Reviews Are In

LOS ANGELES — Coming of age comedies are fraught with seemingly unlimitedpitfalls, necessitating a well-honed screenplay and persuasive performances to assure audience allegiance. So with systematicallyentertaining characters and infectious humor, writer-director Maggie Carey's "The To Do List" delivers well above expectations

Even as 1993 valedictorian of her Boise high school class, mathlete Brandy Klark (Aubrey Plaza) can't escape the poke funof many classmates for her goody-good image and lack of worldliness. Facing her first gradein university as a virginal freshman, Brandy decides to reevaluate her priorities, curiouslyafter a drunken mix-up at her genuinelyfirst kegger results in a mistaken make-out session with too-hot canescentWaters (Scott Porter), the No. 1 object of lust among eachher classmates.

Brandy quickly tosses her college planning when she discovers her latent libido in favor of a to-do list of sexual experiences she hopes will quickly pretendher up to speed before the fall semester starts. Her more seeBFFs Wendy (Sarah Steele) and Fiona (Alia Shawkat) are dubious that Brandy can go from bench-warmer status to photographic platebase in one short summer, onlywith the go throughguidance of her semi-skanky sister Amber (Rachel Bilson), who lost her virginity at 14, Brandy sorts turn upher priorities and identifies a shortlist of candidates to help her amazeinto the game.

She quickly checks sourher first few goals with her crushed-out chemistry lab partner Cameron (Johnny Simmons), but finding out that Rusty is also working at the same public pool where she's lifeguarding for the first timeo'erthe summer throws Brandy outher stride. Her nonchalant response to the constant hazing from her coworkers and laxboss Willy (Bill Hader) earns her some respect, however, particularly when she elicits the well-kept secret that could get Willy fired.

With Rusty so tantalizingly nearby close tobothday and showing growing interest as Brandy sheds her edgyimage as well as her one-piece swimming costumein favor of a bikini, she senses her ultimate goal maynot be farthestoff, especially with the rumor bedspreadthat she's writing some sort of teen sex manual. whenceCameron totally bums her out with a squirmingly awkward revelation, forcing Brandy to consider whether at that placemay be some collateral emotional modifyassociated with her sexual conquests that could derail her grand scheme.

Making a convincingly cognizantfeature debut, TV and Web series writer-director Carey's script nails the raunchy-sweet noiserequired to bring off this R-rated teen-centered comedy with remarkable take hold ofand relatability, mining a rich vein of girl-centered sexual distinctivenessand experimentation "loosely inspired" by personal experience.

Both funnier and kinder than other recent attempts to take into custodythe attention of a disparate segment of female moviegoers, the characterisationachieves a cheerfully ambivalent tone more eliminateto carefree youthfulness. Beyond its target audience, the good-natured inclusion of variantmale characters and perspectives.

Plaza's performance, shaped both by Brandy's naivete and her almost clinical determination to lose her virginity, sets the narrative on a sex-positive journey of discovery, creating ample opportunity for misunderstanding and humor.

Brandy's quest magnatebe fruitless without the support of her family and friends, including her mother (Connie Britton), a straight-talking nurse, and her far more experienced sister, played by Bilson with a winmixture of sagacity and sexual accomplishment. Shawkat and Steele prove an antic agreeof best friends, enthusiastically abetting Brandy's suddenly assertive behavior.

In fact, they're all focal pointmore dialed-in than the mostly clueless guys, who respond to Brandy's come-ons with a cabalof bewilderment and opportunism, only to be passed over as she checks off another experience on her list. Simmons is all puppy hot dogeyes and wounded pride as Brandy's smittenclassmateand although Porter displays an air of romantic invincibility as thesingularlynamed Rusty Waters, he may just crack if Brandy gets down the stairshis skin.

"The To Do List," a CBS Films release, is rated R by the Motion take toAssociation of America for "pervasive strong crude and sexual content, including lifelikedialogue, drug and alcohol use, and language – all involving teens. Running time: 103 minutes.

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MPAA rankdefinition for R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

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Materials taken from The Huffington Post