Being a fan of Parker Posey from the hilarious Christopher Guest reality films "Waiting for Guffman", "Best in Show" and "A Mighty Wind", I figured I'd like this film. It had a similar Guestian approach, taking the guise of a documentary that satirizes some exceptionally kooky characters (Posey's taking the kooky cake), but somehow it was a letdown.
Being something of a hippie myself, I love seeing spoofs of hippie characters, like Michael Shannon in "Grand Theft Parsons", or half the cast of Peter Sellers' "The Party". Here, Posey did a good job, but I feel like she didn't have enough good biting lines, and instead she had to rely on general goofy expressions, big arm movements and slapstick for the role. Only 1 or 2 funny lines stick out (like when she takes the camera crew to the dock to meet Millie's husband and says, "now we're going to visit Millie's husband who is working. He's a lobster MURDERER.") I got a laugh out of that delivery. But other than that, I felt like I was constantly waiting for Parker to deliver a good zinger that never came.
The other characters were far too straight-laced to be of much interest, and the story itself was rather uneventful. Oddly enough, the main thing I got out of this movie was not entertainment, but rather the social message that warehoused chickens are abused & tortured, and we should each do our best to support free-range chicken farms, or not buy eggs at all. That itself is a worthy accomplishment of this film, but I just wish there was more entertainment value.
If you want a full dose of Parker Posey's comedic talents, check out the Christopher Guest films I listed above. "The Love Guide" is an OK film to watch on a lazy afternoon, but it didn't really tickle me the way I hoped it would.
Being something of a hippie myself, I love seeing spoofs of hippie characters, like Michael Shannon in "Grand Theft Parsons", or half the cast of Peter Sellers' "The Party". Here, Posey did a good job, but I feel like she didn't have enough good biting lines, and instead she had to rely on general goofy expressions, big arm movements and slapstick for the role. Only 1 or 2 funny lines stick out (like when she takes the camera crew to the dock to meet Millie's husband and says, "now we're going to visit Millie's husband who is working. He's a lobster MURDERER.") I got a laugh out of that delivery. But other than that, I felt like I was constantly waiting for Parker to deliver a good zinger that never came.
The other characters were far too straight-laced to be of much interest, and the story itself was rather uneventful. Oddly enough, the main thing I got out of this movie was not entertainment, but rather the social message that warehoused chickens are abused & tortured, and we should each do our best to support free-range chicken farms, or not buy eggs at all. That itself is a worthy accomplishment of this film, but I just wish there was more entertainment value.
If you want a full dose of Parker Posey's comedic talents, check out the Christopher Guest films I listed above. "The Love Guide" is an OK film to watch on a lazy afternoon, but it didn't really tickle me the way I hoped it would.