'Writers' Trailer: Greg Kinnear Knows What Makes A Great Writer

If Girls seems to chalk up Hannah's bad ideas to her relative youth, the first trailer for Writers suggests such misguidedness may simply be an occupational hazard. In the directorial debut by Josh Boone, Greg Kinnear plays an acclaimed novelist who deals with his divorce by alternately spying on his ex-wife (Jennifer Connelly) and screwing his married neighbor (Kristen Bell).

His kids Samantha (Lily Collins) and Rusty (Nat Wolff) are both budding writers as well, though they take totally opposite approaches to life. She racks up "experiences" in the form of notches on her bedpost, while he pines after a pretty high school classmate (Liana Liberato) with a mean boyfriend. Watch the first trailer after the jump.

[via Coming Soon]

Collins' plot thread looks like the most predictable arc in a film stuffed with predictable arcs, not least because we just saw Logan Lerman doing the exact same shtick in Perks of Being a Wallflower a few months ago. Seriously, he could've walked right off of that set and onto this one without changing so much as his shirt. It's not much more difficult to guess where Wolff's story will take him, either.

Writers didn't attract much buzz at Toronto last year, perhaps because there's not much to set it apart from every other well-meaning indie drama on the festival circuit. If it has one thing going for it, though, it's the casting. Variety singled out Kinnear and Connelly for their ability to "make the emotionally complicated look easy," Screen Daily praised the "charming, empathetic ensemble," and THR complimented the "endearing performances." The group's overall likability seems to go a long way toward selling what everyone agrees are overwritten, formulaic storylines.

I think I'll wait for this one to hit VOD, personally. But if you're interested in catching it in theaters, Millennium Entertainment has Writers set for limited release starting April 19.