John Merriman Movies
A geek girl can't help falling for boys who are even bigger losers than she is in this independent comedy from writer and director Steve Collins. Gretchen Finkle (Courtney Davis) is a 17-year-old high school student who has been going through an awkward phase for most of her life. Gretchen has a lamentable fashion sense, she's socially inept, and she has a habit of falling head over heels for the greasiest and most burnt out guys at her school. Gretchen's latest romantic obsession is Ricky, a particularly notorious local hesher, and her mother becomes so concerned about Gretchen's crush that she ships her daughter off to an in-patient emotional therapy clinic to sort out her confused and unstable emotional condition. Gretchen tries to go along with therapy, but decides she needs to set out on a journey of self-discovery if she's going to get to the bottom of her neuroses and her obsession with loser guys in time for the senior prom. Gretchen received the award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2006 Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Courtney Davis, John Merriman, (more)
- 2002
When perpetually disgruntled twentysomething Hunter Reeves (John Merriman) is fired from a chain bookstore, his best chance at regaining some semblance of financial security is by offering himself to Pharmakhem, which, despite being exactly the type of pharmaceutical conglomerate Hunter is prone to despise, is paying good money for human test subjects. Along with his fellow unemployed friends Nicki and Greg, Hunter agrees to set aside his most recent Noam Chomsky book and swallow an experimental anti-depressant. Unlike Prozac, however, this drug doesn't encourage proper brain chemistry as much as it induces stupidity. Ignorance really is bliss for Hunter; while he finds himself increasingly unconcerned with the state of the world, he's also becoming progressively dumber. My Name Is Buttons was directed by Merriman and Courtney Davis, and also features Lowell Bartholomee, Jennifer Bryan, T'Chaka Sikelianos, Bob Richardson, and Don Cass. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
