Review of Hanging Up

This movie should be required viewing in all film schools so future film makers will know what a truly bad movie is. It is excruciatingly bad from beginning to end. And make no mistake about it: this is a Meg Ryan movie. You can blame the director and the writer and everyone else involved - but Meg Ryan is in almost every scene & even though the movie is ostensibly about three sisters - it really is all about Meg. That could have been the title: All About Meg. She mugs, she screams (a lot) she pratfalls, she slobbers with the dog, she drives her family nuts, she wrecks the car, she stares into space wondering why her parents are separated - but mostly she is on the phone - hence the title Hanging Up. This is a movie that is meant to be deep & funny. It is not funny. It is not deep. It is very shrill. And it is very painful to watch. It is also very painful to listen to since it has one of the most horrible soundtracks ever. Finally, it is very painful to see Walter Matthau in what must be one of his last roles. It is so sad to think that this great actor ended up in a horrible mess like Hanging Up.