From the very beginning, Midnight in the Switchgrass promises the feintest GLIMPSES of brilliance. These glimpses, unfortunately, are so random, sometimes subtle and mostly so unsure of themselves, they die out much too soon, and we are left with a film that implodes under the weight of trying to accomplish that which it realizes pretty soon, that it can't.
One of the main and apparent reasons it cannot, is the inclusion of Bruce Willis in the cast. In 2021 alone, I believe there were 6 or 7 films that had Willis floating around in them, and each one was made worse by the very limited number of minutes he actually appeared in them. The poor guy is renting his name out for peanuts and delivering lines with less verve and conviction than that which he uses to order a Latte when he's unsure of how he wants it. Seriously, without gunshots, burning buildings, or explosions, Bruce was never a scene-stealer to begin with, and recently, it's worse than that. By now, it should be a well-established fact that Bruce Willis is there for a paycheck which he will reward with one or two blank stares and a few mumbled lines.
The second reason, is that the name Megan Fox implies bad-to-mediocre acting at best, so most people will tune in for her face (which once was glorious until she self-sabotaged it to lesser-so), or her body. That is really a shame because quite surprisingly, Fox delivers a pretty great performance and believable interpretation of her character. In fact, I think it may be one of her best-acted roles.
Emile Hirsh, who I have only seen in a couple of other things, has never disappointed and does not disappoint in this - that is, WITH WHAT HE'S GIVEN - which is unfortunately, not enough.
The random glimpses of great, are not enough to elevate this film to "good".
One of the main and apparent reasons it cannot, is the inclusion of Bruce Willis in the cast. In 2021 alone, I believe there were 6 or 7 films that had Willis floating around in them, and each one was made worse by the very limited number of minutes he actually appeared in them. The poor guy is renting his name out for peanuts and delivering lines with less verve and conviction than that which he uses to order a Latte when he's unsure of how he wants it. Seriously, without gunshots, burning buildings, or explosions, Bruce was never a scene-stealer to begin with, and recently, it's worse than that. By now, it should be a well-established fact that Bruce Willis is there for a paycheck which he will reward with one or two blank stares and a few mumbled lines.
The second reason, is that the name Megan Fox implies bad-to-mediocre acting at best, so most people will tune in for her face (which once was glorious until she self-sabotaged it to lesser-so), or her body. That is really a shame because quite surprisingly, Fox delivers a pretty great performance and believable interpretation of her character. In fact, I think it may be one of her best-acted roles.
Emile Hirsh, who I have only seen in a couple of other things, has never disappointed and does not disappoint in this - that is, WITH WHAT HE'S GIVEN - which is unfortunately, not enough.
The random glimpses of great, are not enough to elevate this film to "good".