This film belongs in the "call my dentist, I'd much rather have a root canal" category. My wife and I attended this film, ignoring the fact that the usher had told us people were walking out on this movie in droves, and there were more than a few asking for a refund. We had already paid, and I thought, "How bad could it be"? I, and the three other people (including my wife) in the theater soon found out.
I love Ashley Judd. She is a superb actress. Harry Connick Jr. is a name actor/musician, but neither they, nor any actor on the planet could make this film enjoyable for me. Aside from these two names, you won't recognize anyone in this film. One of the main reasons is there are only three or four scenes that take place outside of the hotel room, and there are a total of five billed actors/actresses in the film. In addition, this movie is about paranoia in its most schizophrenic form, and the director of the film follows suit.
The story starts off boring enough
uh, I mean in the standard character developmental stage, but then it spirals downward into a twisted mess. The story/director are attempting to make you think, but really only annoy you with childish and transparent plot twists. The agonized guilt ridden mother is so easily manipulated that you want to retch your incredibly overpriced popcorn onto the screen. How, in this day and age, does a transient become significant part of your life in a couple of hours? Well, just watch Agnes White (Ashley Judd) forsake everything in her life for an ex-military transient who is so psychotic that he actually believes he has bugs in his teeth, planted by, you guessed it, Uncle Sam! Now it's bad enough that this character is that paranoid, but somehow, he is able to transfer this paranoia to our Heroine
speaking of which, they are using various drugs throughout the film. Not being a drug user I have to ask the question, do drugs make you this crazy? (SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER)
So, after all is said and done
our antagonist completes the psychotic paranoid transference to our protagonist
they come to accept their fate, and actually relish the fact the "bugs" (that do not exist of course) are their offspring
it is here they decide to pour gasoline (which has been inside the hotel room for hours, maybe days) over their bodies and burn themselves alive. Okay, it is here that I am actually happy because this film is OVER. The thing I like best at this point is that Agnes White (Ashley Judd) seems to realize how crazy this is in her final second of life and actually gasps when the flame is lit.
So there you go. If, after all this, you still want to see this movie I'm thinking you must be a masochist, but hey, to each his own. Maybe I'm the one that's crazy. Maybe this is the best film of all time. If you're in to the "12 Monkeys" or "Jacob's Ladder" type of films, you'll probably love this film. Me, I'd rather douse myself in gasoline and set myself on fire
oh wait, is that plagiarism?
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