OK movie, but it's flawed in ways that distract, and it pulls certain punches.
First, the pulled punches: They try to say something about forgiveness (in the specific form of overcoming your anger), but the pacing/exposition is such that it's hard to understand the nature of that anger; it sort of hangs there, like a breast drawn in charcoal by a 3rd rate artist. It's not organic and subsequently difficult to recognize and identify with. Other folks pointed out the total weirdness of Kate keeping her lush hair through chemo. Now THAT'S pulling a punch. You can sort of, y'know, get away with it... but, in the end, discerning eyes are going to notice and feel something between pique and resentment. Also: They never developed the angle, dropped by the chief oncologist, about professional emotional distancing, but that may be one of the more forgivable lapses in the flick.
The flaws: The songs reeked--almost hurt, they were so bad--and I found this distracting. They were churned out by hacks. Why even *have* songs, if you're not going to make sure they're good? Think about the idea of a producer saying, "Yeah, the songs are schlock. But who's gonna notice? The kinds of people who go to these flicks can't discern these things, and we saved a bale o' dough on royalties." That should be insulting to reflect upon, if you have any self-respect.
Perhaps the biggest flaw is the o'er-weening reliance on the afterlife dodge. In other words, people are going to miss Kate, but somehow we, in the audience, won't have to: She's made it to that other shore, to spend eternity yukking it up with Whoopie; that lets us off the hook, and I like my movies to expect from me (in the audience) what they expect from players in the show. They even go so far as to show Kate's beau walking to the bank of the river to gaze across, like *he* can see her over there. I thought that weakened the idea of her wake as a blowout party.
But, all this aside, there are distinct positives. The writing for scenes was very good. Some folks didn't like the acting. I thought it was great. At the very least, it could be said that a lot of real professionalism was in evidence. The basic message, that we're all going to die and we need to be ready, was delivered.
In the end, I can't recommend this flick, but not because it's "bad". It's just that there are so many fine movies out there--including good movies about end-of-life--why waste yr time on something tepidly good?
First, the pulled punches: They try to say something about forgiveness (in the specific form of overcoming your anger), but the pacing/exposition is such that it's hard to understand the nature of that anger; it sort of hangs there, like a breast drawn in charcoal by a 3rd rate artist. It's not organic and subsequently difficult to recognize and identify with. Other folks pointed out the total weirdness of Kate keeping her lush hair through chemo. Now THAT'S pulling a punch. You can sort of, y'know, get away with it... but, in the end, discerning eyes are going to notice and feel something between pique and resentment. Also: They never developed the angle, dropped by the chief oncologist, about professional emotional distancing, but that may be one of the more forgivable lapses in the flick.
The flaws: The songs reeked--almost hurt, they were so bad--and I found this distracting. They were churned out by hacks. Why even *have* songs, if you're not going to make sure they're good? Think about the idea of a producer saying, "Yeah, the songs are schlock. But who's gonna notice? The kinds of people who go to these flicks can't discern these things, and we saved a bale o' dough on royalties." That should be insulting to reflect upon, if you have any self-respect.
Perhaps the biggest flaw is the o'er-weening reliance on the afterlife dodge. In other words, people are going to miss Kate, but somehow we, in the audience, won't have to: She's made it to that other shore, to spend eternity yukking it up with Whoopie; that lets us off the hook, and I like my movies to expect from me (in the audience) what they expect from players in the show. They even go so far as to show Kate's beau walking to the bank of the river to gaze across, like *he* can see her over there. I thought that weakened the idea of her wake as a blowout party.
But, all this aside, there are distinct positives. The writing for scenes was very good. Some folks didn't like the acting. I thought it was great. At the very least, it could be said that a lot of real professionalism was in evidence. The basic message, that we're all going to die and we need to be ready, was delivered.
In the end, I can't recommend this flick, but not because it's "bad". It's just that there are so many fine movies out there--including good movies about end-of-life--why waste yr time on something tepidly good?