Reviews

This film can't decide whether it is a serious film dealing with issues such as cancer and the affect on that on a family or a quirky film dipping its toes in the lives of normal folks like you and me. The film is a mess. Part of the time it is quirky film e.g. soft-core porn writing is the occupation of the main character, his grandmother is insane in a comedic way but not really funny in any sense, 10 year old girl who is very sophisticated and does yoga etc.

Then there is the serious side that involves cancer, dealing with cancer, marital trouble and generally the issues of all the characters love lives. The overall coldness of this family's lives is the main theme of this side of the film. There is also the matter of Brody's Carter who has just been broken up with and has moved away from LA to get perspective. How original. And guess what, he's writing a book about his experiences.

As you can see these are clearly two different movies. There are too many ideas going on here and far too many bad ideas at that. I can't imagine how this is in any way real or true. Adam Brody's part as Carter is to pass between these two ideas and act as a buffer between the funny and the deeply serious. This doesn't work. The whole plot is flawed. Every action taken by the main character is ridiculous.

The montage love scenes are old, the party fight scene is again completely ludicrous as you would see if you watched this. The production design is terrible, the camera work is equally bad but you can't stray far from the main problem; a completely absurd script. It's a horror to watch and I can't imagine how anyone could see this film as satisfying in any way or form. Adam Brody was thought of for this no doubt because of his fast talking and comic abilities which would have suited if this was just an offbeat drama. But no, they tried to make it son much more.

This is just a case of a film that tried to cover all the bases. Every part of this film has been done before and has been done in a more superior fashion in other movies. In the end this film is a comedy/love story/wacky drama/issue driven film. It is just meaningless and bizarre and it should not have been made.

To summarise it is basically a waste of an hour and a half of a life, whatever fee you paid to watch it and the time after watching this muck that you'll spend angry at yourself for getting it in the first place.

This film was hyped to the max due to the involvement of Clint Eastwood, Tim Robbins and especially Sean Penn. These three peoples involvement in this film made the people at the academy salivate to such an extent, most sadly died and the rest where required to wear drips for a period of one solid month, pumping in a mix of water, extreme hypocrisy and stupidity. A hefty dosage.

Anyway, this film is what you would rightly expect from these characters. Intensity and a certain level of ability. Sean Penn acts his role rather well and the same can be said for Tim Robbins and even Kevin Bacon. But the problem is very simple. This is so unbelievable it is very hard to get truly sucked in. The characters are extreme. Robbins character is meant to be a weirdo, a freak, yet he still manages to make a living, marry a fairly nice wife and father a well rounded son. Not what one would expect from a man who's childhood and subsequent life was ruined due to a dreadful 4 day experience. 'Damaged goods' is what he is referred to in the film I believe.

Sean Penn does well as the grieving father. But the hints and insights he has into his daughters life are excruciatingly unreal. He can tell by a look. No Chance. His gangster past is also a miss for me. Terrible. Kevin Bacon does well. As well as he can but he's in no trouble. His parter is though. Lawrence Fishburne's character is so badly written and filled with clichés its beyond belief. This is a huge let down and does drag the movie down somewhat. I don't know if everything is down to the poor writing but it is sickening. Poorly acted but with the material, what can you do.

It seems that the realism that Clint and his chums went into this film seeking was never there to begin with. The story is weak. The murder mystery is far too easily solved and the actions of the characters can't even be attributed to desperation or to difficult childhoods. It fails in what is trying to convey. The truth. What these characters would do in this situation. It wouldn't happen this way. Its been down in many places before and the supporting characters seem very unbelievable. Shocking really. There is too much going on and most of it is not worthwhile.