Good Grief (2000) Official Site ** of **** Rated: Format: Betacam Length: 77 minutes Writer & Director: Andrew Dickson Cast:   Dave Gray: Chuck   Ali Coleman: Loris   Al Burian: Magnus   Bethe Mack: Darcy   John Toddoroff: Sylvan   Cari Morgan: Payton			Titles & images are property of their respective owners.
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	Synopsis: Good Grief is a loose version of the Peanuts gang (notice the names) as high school kids who are into role play games.  A group of seniors who have been into a fantasy role playing game named Monsters & Mayhem has begun to expand into normal teen activities, but Chuck wants the gang to stick with the games.  Chuck has the idea to use their spring break to go off on a real treasure hunt for a golden statue that was buried for a publishers publicity stunt and never found.  He also is motivated by the fact that he needs the money to go somewhere better than community college so that he won't be bothered by the jocks from his school that will be attending there.  With help from another meek member, he convinces the gang to change the plan of renting beach condos to the treasure hunt.  Chuck's crush Loris gets her boyfriend and former group member Magnus to drive his car on the trip.  They get away from home, relax, but then more jocks hassle the group, and most of that as usual is directed toward Chuck.  His later response to the jocks is awash in a fog of reality and the game, but he learns to defend himself.  As the search for the statue becomes hopeless, he remembers that there is another way to find the statue, and it is his humility that gets him what he really needed all along.    Quick Review: This is really a very good movie when you consider it was shot in 12 days with non actors on a minuscule budget by a first time writer/director.  The progressive development of individual characters is very good because it both defines their individuality and their relations with one another.  The real story is well hidden by the more obvious exploits, and makes this feature strong at the end.  The immersion of internal and external conflicts in the relations between characters is made even stronger by believable acting jobs.  The blending of role playing fantasy and reality is effectively used to add to the story.  The subtle statement of self identity makes this worth seeing even though it certainly has it's weaknesses.