I claim that my review is unbiased simply because I didn't know anything about the director. I read all the negative reviews and see that people are frustrated because they compare it to his earlier works which are supposedly funnier.I must confess that I didn't know anything about the director, The Office Space, etc. That's why I had no expectations. I didn't expect this movie to be funny either. OK, so it is not funny in a way like a comedy sit com is funny, jokes are not laughable. This movie has dark humor; it is situations and what happens to people that makes it comical and even tragic.
Main character, Joel, is the owner of an extract factory that he built from scratch with hard work. He is having some marital problems; his wife is not having sex with him anymore. In the meantime, a young, attractive temp, Cindy, gets hired as an employee. Joel turns to his bartender friend, Dean (a very comical role by Ben Affleck) for advice who talks him into hiring an amateur young stud, Brad, to seduce Joel's wife. If his wife gives into temptation then it is only fair for him to do the same, a seemingly logical way to guilt-free cheating.
I really enjoyed this movie and it somewhat reminded me of American Beauty (maybe because it was about problems of classic suburban families). It successfully portrays flaws of people, such as prejudice, sexual temptation, addiction, greed, ambition, career aspirations, and being intrusive, and most of all, miscommunication. I am really sorry that people didn't enjoy this as much as I did. If you can view this without any expectations you may find that is a quite remarkable film and definitely deserves a rating higher than 7.
Main character, Joel, is the owner of an extract factory that he built from scratch with hard work. He is having some marital problems; his wife is not having sex with him anymore. In the meantime, a young, attractive temp, Cindy, gets hired as an employee. Joel turns to his bartender friend, Dean (a very comical role by Ben Affleck) for advice who talks him into hiring an amateur young stud, Brad, to seduce Joel's wife. If his wife gives into temptation then it is only fair for him to do the same, a seemingly logical way to guilt-free cheating.
I really enjoyed this movie and it somewhat reminded me of American Beauty (maybe because it was about problems of classic suburban families). It successfully portrays flaws of people, such as prejudice, sexual temptation, addiction, greed, ambition, career aspirations, and being intrusive, and most of all, miscommunication. I am really sorry that people didn't enjoy this as much as I did. If you can view this without any expectations you may find that is a quite remarkable film and definitely deserves a rating higher than 7.