Synopsis (from Goodreads): Liz Buxbaum has always known that Wes Bennett was not boyfriend material.

It also turned a trashy beach read into a masterful showcase of filmmaking which still drank from 1970s naturalism, even as it heightened it for maximum popcorn effect. This little indie starred a host of early 2000s-era young talent who were often in the tabloids themselves, including Wilmer Valderrama, Macaulay Culkin, and Mia Kirshner.

Not all readers will get all of the references, especially since some of the films mentioned have an older target audience than that of the book. However, she can’t seem to find a way to get to him; that’s why she comes up with a plan to win his heart and get him to ask her out for prom. Will her story become one worthy of the enemies-to-lovers trope that’s so popular in rom-coms or will she end up with her first crush? Her eyebrows went down, and so did the corners of her lips as she stopped in front of the locker and turned the lock.

Lynn Painter’s new novel Better Than the Movies follows Liz Buxbaum, high school student and hopeless romantic. He was wearing khakis and a nice black shirt, the kind of outfit that showed he knew what looked good but also didn’t spend too much time on fashion. She’d been pissed at me for three days when I’d blown off the spring break trip to the beach, but it had felt more like an exam I was dreading than an actual good time, and I just couldn’t. My best friend was a perpetual oversleeper, so there was rarely a day when she wasn’t scrambling to put on her eyeliner before the bell rang. Keep up with all the latest book-related goodies on our blog and interact with authors in our Twitter chats.

They each resort to all sorts of dirty tricks to keep the other from getting the spot, which was just hilarious. It felt like she was too dramatic at times (which at the beginning I blamed the narrator for, but it’s not her - it’s the character). We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. There are messages about frank communication in a relationship, and how important it is to talk about things that bother us. This book is perfect for fans of 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU and EASY A, and really anyone who just wants a good laugh and warm feelings.

The rest of the impressive cast shines in ‘80s yuppie fashion, relishing every coked-out, scenery-chewing moment set to a soundtrack full of superlative one-hit wonders. I especially like how Laney is introduced to us, through Liz’s gaze, and then we as readers get to decide how we feel about her. A perfectly turned phrase can be just as emotional as a beautifully framed shot in the right hands, and sometimes a filmmaker’s choices perfectly align with the author’s sensibility, bringing fan fave characters to vivid life. The way that Painter builds the tension is excellent, and she knows exactly when to release it so it feels earned. Her extensive knowledge and love of romantic comedies was so endearing, as was her slightly misguided attempt to secure her own happy ending by fake dating her neighbor in an effort to get Michael’s attention.Now that he's back in town, Liz will do whatever it takes to get on his radar-and maybe snag him as a prom date-even befriend Wes Bennet. One of the things I liked about Wes was that he saw Liz for exactly who she was and didn’t think she needed to change anything.

His performance is also just absurd enough to better accentuate the satirical elements of the novel and maybe add some texture to Bateman’s internal black void. And as they continue to grow closer, she must reexamine everything she thought she knew about love—and rethink her own perception of what Happily Ever After should really look like. He teeters between abject disgust for his human prey, desperation, madness, and a terrifying blankness behind his eyes.A large part of this has to do with how superbly cast the film is, with Australian newcomers Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce leading across veterans like Danny DeVito, Kim Basinger, Kevin Spacey, and James Cromwell.