I went into this film expecting an edgy, funny film of one-upsmanship between a man who's fallen in love and the far-too-attached son of his intended. I mean face it, the premise is filled with possibilities, and the trailers suggested we should go in ready to laugh. Not so. What I witnessed was a film that tossed aside every comic opportunity and settled instead for a kind of after school special about coming to terms with your mom's boyfriend. Hugely disappointing to see such good actors wasted on what could have been a sharp and insightful story, rife with opportunities for humor.
I heard John C. Reilly give an interview where he said there was a great deal of improv in the film and he was grateful for the opportunity to create his own vision. Nice for him, but boring for the audience -- the dialog was clichéd and unfocused, the story rambled along with no dramatic or comedic tension, and all that improv forced some very clumsy editing. Not saying the acting wasn't good, it was. Marisa Tomei did the best she could with a character who had no back story, no convincing explanation for why she's fallen in love with the drunken lout peeing in the bushes at a party, no exploration of why she's created this hugely dependent son or why she's had no one in her life since her son was born 21 year ago! It was enough for the film makers that she was hot, and they pretty must left her to figure out the rest. John C. Reilly is a good actor but I'm really tired of seeing ugly losers score the great looking girl, it's doesn't happen in life unless you're rich and this guy is not only not rich he seems almost unemployable. Catherine Keener plays his ex-wife, and there was an opportunity to draw a parallel between his dependence on her and Jonah Hill's dependence on his mother. They dropped it like a hot potato. Too interesting, I suppose.
The cinematography drove me nuts. Restless cameras with overused snap-zooms irritate the hell out of me, and this DP never missed an opportunity to snap-zoom. It was like watching a commercial. Ms. Tomei was also lit very unfortunately a number of times, which I suppose is forgivable in a low budget film but regrettable all the same.
I am bewildered by the praise that's been heaped on this film. I suspect people are so happy to see something that isn't 3D or nonstop violence or gross-out humor that they are taking pains to be kind. I too want to encourage thoughtful films with clever plots and unexpected humor. This isn't one of them.
I heard John C. Reilly give an interview where he said there was a great deal of improv in the film and he was grateful for the opportunity to create his own vision. Nice for him, but boring for the audience -- the dialog was clichéd and unfocused, the story rambled along with no dramatic or comedic tension, and all that improv forced some very clumsy editing. Not saying the acting wasn't good, it was. Marisa Tomei did the best she could with a character who had no back story, no convincing explanation for why she's fallen in love with the drunken lout peeing in the bushes at a party, no exploration of why she's created this hugely dependent son or why she's had no one in her life since her son was born 21 year ago! It was enough for the film makers that she was hot, and they pretty must left her to figure out the rest. John C. Reilly is a good actor but I'm really tired of seeing ugly losers score the great looking girl, it's doesn't happen in life unless you're rich and this guy is not only not rich he seems almost unemployable. Catherine Keener plays his ex-wife, and there was an opportunity to draw a parallel between his dependence on her and Jonah Hill's dependence on his mother. They dropped it like a hot potato. Too interesting, I suppose.
The cinematography drove me nuts. Restless cameras with overused snap-zooms irritate the hell out of me, and this DP never missed an opportunity to snap-zoom. It was like watching a commercial. Ms. Tomei was also lit very unfortunately a number of times, which I suppose is forgivable in a low budget film but regrettable all the same.
I am bewildered by the praise that's been heaped on this film. I suspect people are so happy to see something that isn't 3D or nonstop violence or gross-out humor that they are taking pains to be kind. I too want to encourage thoughtful films with clever plots and unexpected humor. This isn't one of them.