Greetings again from the darkness. I don't question the chemistry of director Terry Zwigoff and writer Daniel Clowes. I enjoyed "Ghost World" and hated "Bad Santa", which I realize has a near cult following. They are master scene creators (vignettes, if you will) but just don't seem to have the skills to make an entire movie flow.
Blessed with a tremendous cast including John Malkovich, Angelica Huston, Jim Broadbent and Steve Buscemi, Zwigoff continues to brow beat the audience with his perceived brilliance. This film suffers from the weak presence of Max Minghella ("Syriana" and "Bee Season") who is in most scenes. Minghella, with his bedroom eyes and pouty supermodel lips, has no real personality and just can't pull off either the quiet moments of desperation or the ha-ha outbursts of the kid who thinks the stupidity of his surroundings must be a big joke.
A bright spot is Sophia Myles who has some screen presence as the art class model slash girl of his dreams whom Minghella believes he is destined to be with. Also the commentary on the art world in general, and art school in particular, is quite poignant. Otherwise, there are too many in your face punch lines and definitely too much penis screen time for my tastes.
Here's hoping Zwigoff and Clowes keep at it because, although I don't agree with those who think they are great, I do believe there is potential greatness waiting to develop.