Gretchen (film)

Gretchen is a 2006 film directed by Steve Collins, starring Courtney Davis as the title character. The film was Collins' first full-length feature and was based on his short film Gretchen & the Night Danger.

Gretchen
Film poster
Directed by	Steve Collins
Produced by	Rajen Savjani
Cinematography	PJ Raval
Edited by	Mike Shen
Production companies	Film Science Van Hoy/Knudsen Productions
Distributed by	Film1 Watchmaker Films
Release date	August 2006 (2006-08) (Locarno)[1]
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Plot

Gretchen Finkle (Courtney Davis) is a 17-year-old high school student with a romantic obsession over Ricky (John Merriman). Her mother (Becky Ann Baker) becomes so concerned about Gretchen's crush that she sends her daughter to an in-patient emotional therapy clinic.

Cast

• Courtney Davis as Gretchen Finkle
• John Merriman as Ricky Marichino
• Macon Blair as Nick Rangoon
• Becky Ann Baker as Lori Finkle
• Yasmine Kittles as Marla Auschussler
• Stephen Root as Herb
• Peyton Hayslip as Miss Jennings

Production

Development

Gretchen is a full-length adaptation of Steve Collins' 2004 short film Gretchen & the Night Danger, which won the Jury Award for Competition Shorts at South By Southwest.^[2][3]

Reception

Critical response

Sky Hirschkron, writing for Stylus Magazine, stated, "Collins is perceptive to Gretchen’s status as a loser; the problem is that he offers nothing to counterbalance it, resulting in a perspective inadvertently as cruel as her tormentors".^[4] Film Threat's Don Lewis commented, "Gretchen is a really dry, funny and sad film [...] The bond between Gretchen and her mother is a sweet touch and without it, one might think Collins was cinematically abusing Gretchen just as everyone else does throughout the film."^[5]

Accolades

List of awards and nominations

Award	Category	Nominee	Result
Los Angeles Film Festival[6]	Best Dramatic Feature	Steve Collins	Won