We've been studying up on "The Art of Getting By" since the coming-of-age tale first flickered across a big screen in January. Back then, at the Sundance Film Festival, the Emma Roberts-starring indie was called "Homework," though anyone who uses the film's early scenes as a guide to life, love and academics would end up looking a bit foolish.
The movie stars Roberts as a popular yet disillusioned high school senior who forms an unlikely bond with Freddie Highmore's artistic outcast. He teaches her how to slack off, she basically declares herself open to a romantic advance, and still the twosome can't quite come together. Awkwardness and adorableness ensue in equal parts.
MTV News ended up debuting the first trailer, after Fox Searchlight snapped up the film at Sundance. And earlier this month, we held a sneak-peek screening of the full film a few days before the MTV Movie Awards. After the showing, during a livestream Q&A with Roberts and her castmates, the young actress revealed that while she connected deeply with her character (writer/director Gavin Wiesen based many of them on his own life), there was at least one moment on set that she loathed at the time and continues to cringe over to this day.
"There's a scene — I haven't seen it; when I saw the movie I walked out because I was too embarrassed — where I have to dance in a bar with [costar Michael Angarano] and I hate it because I felt really uncomfortable."
"That just happened to be my favorite scene!" cracked Angarano.
Indeed, there's not much about high school Roberts seems to hold dear. While she was homeschooled, the actress crashed her pals' proms and football games, and as she put it, "That was more than enough for me! I can't imagine having to go every day and deal with that. I'm sure I missed lots and lots of torture from people."
While we wouldn't say her character, Sally, tortures Highmore in "Art of Getting By," she certainly gives him one heck of a hard time. Yet from these adolescent shenanigans emerges a truly sweet tale about growing up and stumbling, often badly, along the way. But don't take our word for it. The film finally hit theaters on Friday (June 17).
** Hollywood Crush Twitter