If you are interested in hearing debates on feminism, politics, war, drinking, drugs, government spending, big business, the right to bear arms, gossip, religion, homosexuality, modesty, abortion and prostitution all jammed into 94 minutes, I have the movie for you.

I’m Just Saying is an independent film that follows five college students as they spend a night working on a project for a class. For most of us, this would be an entirely relatable experience. These students are not exactly realistic, however.

The five main characters in I’m Just Saying are Sky, Rene, Eden, Tyler and Sylvia.

Sky and Rene are the two male characters, and they lived together during their freshman year. Eden and Tyler are two girls who lived next door to them. Now in their senior year, the two men and two women are still close friends. Sylvia is a nerdy, conservative girl who comes over to Sky’s house to work on a class project with the other four characters.

Each of the characters has distinct traits: Eden is a vegetarian, peace-loving hippie who carries around (and talks to) a plant; Tyler is a rebellious lesbian; Sylvia is a conservative, catholic, modest nerd; Sky is outspoken and likes to challenge anyone’s opinion and Rene is a sex-obsessed college-age male.

The concept of the movie is simply following these four characters and watching them debate their varying viewpoints and backgrounds as they discuss everything from war to drugs to abortion.

The main issue with the movie is that it was obviously low-budget. The sound and lighting are not great, and the settings are repetitious and awkward. Music comes in under the dialogue at completely random points, and there are awkward cuts between scenes. It also has a lot of unrealistic dialogue, uncomfortable, forced laughter and long, awkward pauses. The acting is not awful, but it is not great either.

The thing I found most annoying about this movie, however, was that it was entirely dialogue-based. Generally the scenes consisted of the five main characters sitting in a circle or half-circle, talking while drinking mysterious beverages from brightly colored cups. Their physical interaction almost never matters. This script could very easily be set for a radio program, since the characters literally do not do anything.

The description of this movie on the cover states that it “takes a unique and comedic jab at life as five clever college friends probe the laughable hypocrisies of society, politics and culture.” The most accurate part of this statement is that they probe.

These kids certainly know how to talk, discuss and debate. The entire movie consisted of them arguing a number of issues, and I struggled to find any real plot. The writer did throw in a little romance for good measure, but it seems forced and formulaic. A “comedic jab at life” is entirely inaccurate. The funniest thing about this movie was the awkward drama and overacting.

I will inform you that I am not entirely supported in my dislike of this movie. It was the winner of the Gold Kahuna Award at the Honolulu Film Festival in 2010, the Director’s Choice Bronze Medal for Excellence at the Park City Film Music Festival in 2010 and the Honorable Mention at the Los Angeles Reel Film Festival in 2009.

I suppose there are people who enjoy this type of movie. Maybe some people enjoy watching dry movies about unrealistic college students who debate every issue under the sun, but personally I found this movie to be horribly dull. I actually had trouble staying focused and awake, so I would recommend watching the film after you have had plenty of sleep.

I think this movie presents the occasional interesting new perspective on certain issues. The discussion on religion, which took up about 30 of the movie’s 90 minutes, was fairly interesting. But generally, the views presented in this film are unoriginal and often cliché. Because it may be interesting for the right audience, but it has no real entertainment value, I give this movie one out of five stars.

If you are interested in watching this movie or for more information, it can be bought online.