Hey George, I'd look in the rearview mirror for scathing reviews if I made such a maudlin, repulsive film!OH! MY! Am I speaking blasphemy? Do not the critics--and everyone--simply RAVE about this dog of a film? Yes indeed. Am I the only person alive (other than my dear spouse) who found this flick similar to the worst soaps on TV?
Rarely a spoiler, I will have to give away a bit of the plot to make my point. The film opens with George making sad eyes, sitting beside his vegetable of a wife, who is on life support and about to die. Gee, what a great premise for a film. NOT!
Now, once we've gotten the full tear quotient in place, off we go to see George misparent his two daughters. Gee, that's better. NOT! Is it supposed to be charming that his older daughter is on drugs, hates her mother, and mouths off to her father? Is it supposed to be charming that his younger daughter gets into trouble at school? NOT!
Oh, wait, the drama, or melodrama, gets worse! George learns two very unpleasant facts: His wife will most certainly die...and she was seeing another fella before going into a coma! Oh dear! Poor George! He of course must track down the lout who was romancing his dearly beloved. And he must tell his best friends his wife is gonna die!
Wow, what fun!
Great movie? Where? When? How? Great acting? Only by the young starlet, Shailene Woodley. George's acting? How hard can it be to act miserable and pissed off for two hours?
Have the film critics gone stark-raving mad? Or did I, after viewing this miserable excuse for a film, go mad?
Grade: F
Sorry Clooney fans. Go see George in something good, like the thriller The Peacemaker. Skip this loser of a movie. And don't listen to the idiots who call themselves critics!
Was just about to post this; we saw it yesterday. Guess what? DITTO!
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing Damon wasted in We Bought a Zoo and Clooney here, I PLEAD: don't try to put these men in domestic pablum.
I couldn't care about anyone here. And the film fell into the trap of telling, not showing. We never really saw this marriage. The daughter in trouble? She only had one (lame) misbehaving scene at start.
I just felt the whole thing was short-cutted - just someone's excuse for a paid vacation to paradise.
Seriously - a movie about a woman dying when everyone involved is better off without her?!
The real star of this film, and the only reason I stayed in my seat, was Hawaii. With scenes from three different islands, we knew every setting; we've been fortunate to visit the islands 6 times on 4 islands, and coupled with the Hawaiian music which always takes me away, I ate it up.
Too bad neither of us were in time to warn the other.
Hahaha! I thought you'd argue with me on this one, film buddy! Looks like we see eye to eye. Yeah, wish we had warned each other! As I look over our recent reviews, it's been slim pickins'!
ReplyDeleteomg I forgot to warn you- this movie sucked! I was drawn in by the amazing reviews and "Oscar winning" performances. I thought it was the most cliche, obvious predictable story on the planet with some of the worst acting I've seen in years. Now I like me some George Clooney - but I was so bored by this story- I cringed the whole time. This movie should be a test to pick out who you see eye to eye with (hated the film) and who you don't (loved it). Btw, We Bought A Zoo- I think only should be seen with little kids- interesting real story, not great acting, but cool enough scenery and cute animals- I thought it was way better than the crapper "The Descendants"- should've been "The Despondents"- the way it made us feel watching:-)!!! Cousin Ga.
ReplyDeleteHi cuz! Thanks for weighing in! Yes, The Descendants really bites! Love your concept of using the film as a test to see who you see eye-to-eye with! Good advice on I bought a zoo. I usually watch NAT GEO on the big cats, so I get a very close up view. Do you ever watch Big Cat Diary? It's perhaps the best overall series on leopards, cheetahs, and lions. Have your four little ones seen the classics, such as ET, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, AND ALADDIN? My absolute all-time kiddie favorite is Mary Poppins. I met Dick Van Dyke at an art fair...he's a nice guy!
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