I was looking forward to this one because the trailer appeared to be of a low-budget B-category comedy. However, it was a little misleading because what I saw in the movie was a mess to say the least. It all starts off perfectly well - we get to know the characters, then the twins meet and there's an awful lot of ground for situation comedy. I don't think they were all properly used. Some scenes are too long whereas others are cut too short. These are directorial mistakes. Tim Blake Nelson makes a better sidekick than director in Leaves of Grass and Susan Sarandon hardly even speaks in it. What a shame - the woman is a real talent! Edward Norton (playing the twins) is hilarious with the stupid hair and imbecile gestures as the hillbilly drug dealer but his counterpart professor is less entertaining. The real problem with this film is that halfway through the comedy stops and a completely new style emerges that doesn't suit the anticipation that was built up. I felt really cheated and disappointed that one of the major characters meets their early end and cannot be fulfilled in their aspirations. What was all that talk about their talent etc if they are not even given a chance to show it? Norton gives some good dramatic performance near the end but the ending itself is so strangely put that I couldn't help asking: "is that it?" This is a very confused movie with a seemingly random storyline. It could have been much much better. I am hoping to see Norton in a better movie next time, this one certainly doesn't live up to the expectations.
Review of Leaves of Grass
