I Used to Go Here is a 2020 comedy-drama film directed by Kris Rey. Fresh off a bad breakup, 35-year-old author Kate Conklin (Gillian Jacobs) is invited to speak at her alma mater in Carbondale, Illinois. Instead she finds herself deeply entangled in the personal drama of a bunch of college students.
The movie also stars Jemaine Clement, Josh Wiggins, Hannah Marks, Forrest Goodluck, Jorma Taccone, Kate Micucci, and Zoë Chao. It was released by Gravitas Ventures on August 7, 2020.
Tropes
- Age-Gap Romance: Three of them in quick succession.
- April (who is around 20) is revealed to be sleeping with Professor Kirkpatrick (who, if you go by his actor's age, is in his mid-to-late forties).
- Tall Brandon randomly shares a kiss with Hugo's mother after they spend some time hanging out together.
- Kate (who is 35) has a one night stand with the 20-year-old Hugo.
- Awful Wedded Life: Kirkpatrick admits he and his wife have an open marriage and that she is currently in a different state sleeping with someone else.
- Broken Pedestal: Kirkpatrick becomes one to Kate when she finds out that not only is he having a sexual relationship with one of his students, but he didn't even read her book before offering her a job teaching at the university.
- Drugs Are Good: Kate has a fun time getting high on weed gummies with the college students, with their drug use not portrayed as being a bad thing but rather an entertaining recreational past time.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Kate admits to April that she was jealous of her because she still has her whole life ahead of her when she feels like a failure.
- Hot for Teacher: Kate had feelings for Kirkpatrick, who later reveals he was aware of this, but chose not to reciprocate.
- Named After Somebody Famous: Kate encounters a former college acquaintance named Bradley Cooper. He lampshades how amusing the name has become in the years since.
- Nice Guy: Every student Kate meets is a very friendly and welcoming person.
- No Ending: Kate just leaves the college after the weekend is over, and simply tells her driver Elliot that she thinks she could have "done better" on her book.
- Pet the Dog: The strict owner of the bed-and-breakfast ends up preparing a hearty breakfast for Kate that she enjoys.
- Random Events Plot: The story alternates between Kate's angst and insecurity over feeling she hasn't accomplished much since leaving college to the drama happening between the current students.
- Sex for Solace: Kate and Hugo sleep together after Kate learns Kirkpatrick never read her book and Hugo discovers that April is having a fling with her English professor.
- Shaped Like Itself: One of the students living in Kate's old house is nicknamed "Tall Brandon". Three guesses why.
- Teacher's Pet: April, though it's at least partly because she's sleeping with Professor Kirkpatrick.
- Teacher/Student Romance: It's revealed that star of the English department April is having one with her professor Kirkpatrick. Kate is rather miffed to find out about this, in part because she had been hoping to start one with Kirkpatrick back when she was his student.
