Normally I agree with the movie critics, at least to some degree, but this time I really think they dropped the ball. Roger Ebert, for example, gave it one half star, which means that he thinks it’s one of the worst movies of the year. And to be fair, many of his criticisms struck home; it is shrill, the characters sometimes chew the scenery, and the plot is ridiculous.
However, I think it’s one of the best dark comedies I’ve seen in ages. I laughed, and laughed, and laughed, and although I don’t think it’s Oscar material by a long shot, I think it’s pretty darn good, if for no other reason than it amused me tremendously.
I liked it a lot too. I have two young neices and anyone who’s been subjected to as much Barney and Teletubbies as I have can undoutedly appreciate someone plotting to take the stuffed monster out. A very dark, very twisted film, in other words, right up my alley. The sicker the better! Plus, Ed Norton can do no wrong in my book.
I saw it the night it opened, after having been excited about the film for at least a month. INCREDIBLE performances. Not a single thing about the movie disappointed me. First, I haven’t seen a really good black comedy in a long time, and second, I had almost forgotten how fantastically funny Robin Williams can be when he’s allowed to let himself go. I think the whole premise, the writing, the acting, everything, EVERYTHING was nothing short of brilliant. See this movie. You won’t be disappointed (but you might be slightly offended).
This movie was one of the funniest I’ve seen in a long time. Edward Norton’s character was annoying at first but he got much better as the flick went on.
The songs were great:
“Oh, and smack will lead to crack oh yes it will…”
“Stepdad’s not mean, he’s just adjusting.”
The Onion’s review said it best: “It correctly portrayed the acid-trip creepyness of children’s programming.”
Having heard this I might be interested more interested in seeing it than I was after reading some of the reviews (but fat chance it will come to Panama). Ebert sometimes gets his nose out of joint about dark comedies of the more sick-and-twisted variety. Two movies he hated which I really liked were “Very Bad Things” and “Fight Club.”
I just got home from the theater, and I really liked it. I don’t go to movies with the expectation that they’ll change my life; I go because I want to be entertained. And this movie was definitely entertaining.
Thanks guys, I was kinda on the fence on this one. It looked good (I don’t think I’ve seen a Robin Williams movie that I didn’t at least kinda like), but the reviews were starting to scare me a bit.
I’m not going to spoil any jokes, but paying attention to the song lyrics is a good idea. Half way through the very first song in the movie I was wondering if Williams actually said what I thought he said… and I’m not talking about the bits already posted.
The one dissapointment in the movie for me were the 14 shots that showed the boom mike. By the end of the movie I thought it might be one of the charachters. Coincidentally, in ‘Jack’ (one of Williams’ more recent movies) there was a really bad boom mike shot. I’m always amazed when they don’t re-shoot those, they kill the mood so easily.
I really reccomend this movie. I don’t like DeVito, so I didn’t know if I was going to like this movie, but it was great. They even did a good job on the trialers, one of my greatest peeves. They managed to make a good trailer that didn’t have any of the really funny parts, or even reveal half of the charachters.
I haven’t seen the movie, but I’ve been told in films where you see the boom mike a lot that this problem is not a problem with the film. Rather the projectionist at your theater has poorly framed the film. I understand that mre of the film exists than you see up on the big screen, mainly above and below. However if the framing is off, then the top part comes onto the screen, and there’s the boom mike. Filmmakers don’t bother to trim out the boom mikes as they’re usually hidden just fine in a properly framed film and you won’t notice.
Of course, if the film is framed properly and you still see the boom mike, then that’s a genuine gaff that should’ve been corrected.
Yes, it was lower than it should be, we could see the very top of it. I don’t think that’s a valid excuse, though. I’m not a big fan of ‘quality only where they’ll see it’. Sometimes Norm drives me nuts when he builds a beautiful piece of furniture out of veneer plywood.
They already are using the small side of the 35mm film, I’d think they’d want to use as much of it as possible, to minimize grain and make it that much closer to 70mm quality.
I thought it was hilarious. I like seeing stars like Robin Williams depart from their typical “sweetness and light” roles and take on something more sinister. Plus, Ed Norton as the squeaky-clean Smoochie who gets shocked :eek: every time somebody says a worty dird was hilarious.
Of course, Danny Devito plays a scumbag like he always does, but may as well stick with what you’re good at. Plus, I’m hoping “Step Dad’s not Mean, he’s Adjusting” attains cult status, like Monty Python’s “Every Sperm is Sacred.”
I, too, dearly wish for this. Drachillix and I left the theater singing the lyrics and approving the inclusion of the magic number.
Letting Robin Williams rant produces vivid images previously unimagined…can’t wait to see references to “*$&@%# teletubbies” crop up in the Pit!
Edward Norton’s PC persona was too wheatgrass right-on! I know people like this!
I think we are pretty much in the minority. The movie opened 7th this week.
I liked the movie. I’d give it 3 stars out of 5. Cervase, I didn’t get the feeling that they played it all of that broadly – but I live in Washington, where is stupidity is displayed more egregously than anywhere else. So my centering may be off. Having not seen Dead Again I’m in no position to judge how much Robin Williams cribbed off of that film. I thought he, and Norton were pitch perfect in their roles. Though I’d would argree with the complaint that Keener’s role suffered from the “Because the Plot Calls for It” syndrome. I still can’t figure her out. And that Stewart was a non-entity in the film. I believe they hired Stewart because he has a “slick” voice. Like James Woods for Disney’s Hercules or John Q.
Though I admit the ending was a huge let down because, aren’t they supposed to be cruel in a black-comedy. Why the feel good ending?
But I did end up laughing at this more often than not.
