Reviews

Bad acting. Next to no script or plot. An uninteresting cameo from Warhol. Pretence turned up to 11. If you don't like the album this exploits, it's an expensive student film style disaster. I would sell it to you only on the condition you never press Play. It would have been interesting as a late 70s postcard of New York but it's shot so tight, that you see precious little of it. Abominable.

I watched this in High School andmade a point of watching every week. Returning to it 25 years later...yeesh. The pilot is enjoyable and the first season is OK before running out of steam half way through. The second season is uneven but has enjoyable moments. Move over to season three and it's just brain dead soap opera. Pretty scenery but low on calories.

That's it. I searched for this movie because I kept hearing this Jack Black sound bite on the radio. This is a film I passed by at the time of release, but decided to rent it to say 'yes' I had seen it. It's OK in part. I felt like I was watching a cinematic, though darker version of How I Met Your Mother and can see this might have influenced the character development of that show or at least Mosby.

Some viewers, will say it's not funny - I heartily chuckled in places. Tim Robbins, the love rival, gets too small a part, a sub-plot. How much of this feature was haphazardly left on the cutting-room floor? At no point are we informed as to why Cusack needs the girl and they have zero chemistry. Cusack wears the same hang-dog expression throughout, often whilst standing in the rain in his Brando leather jacket.

I like music. I like indie music. So what. Yes I know of Belle and Sebastian, but this in no way makes the film more relatable and shouldn't alter anyone's appreciation of the proceedings. The problem I found was the uneven pace and loose structure. It's slow and feels like an almost 3h feature but I persisted. The last half hour feels rushed and seemingly attempting to squeeze in a large section of the book, with sparse dialog. I was enjoying it, but then it ran out of steam so noticeably that I scored it a 4 rather than a 7. It's overrated.

I like a black comedy on the rare occasion they appear. 'The Lobster' being a solid 8 for me and I've chuckled through it 3 times. Then there is this.

Marketed as a comedy, it simply is not. The trailer is very misleading. I made it to the hour mark before quitting. It's dark, gory but won't elicit laughter for the simple reason, that there are no jokes and humour is not the intent. This a character study film of a mentally unbound person turned murderer.

Shame on the marketers of this film.

So much potential wasted. I so enjoyed 'The Life Aquatic' many years ago, but am afraid to visit it for fear of disappointment. 'Moonrise Kingdom' a faint piece of whimsy I might score a 6, but this one evaporates after 30 minutes. I have to wonder why Bill Murray and Jeff Goldblum signed on, because any meaningful dialogue disappears for them at this point.

I was underwhelmed by the theatrical trailer but, thought why not when home release was made available. My original summation was proven correct in that this piece is style over substance. The plot in the latter stages becomes somewhat convoluted or perhaps I was too bored to concentrate. As other reviewers have asked 'Who is the target audience?', I am left with the same quandary - too dark for kids, too predictable and unchallenging for adults.

This production appeared rushed. All the animation was excellent but it hung off of a script that felt it was at first draft stage. Not recommended.