Reviews

I don't want to spend to long here rambling about the plot- you've seen the trailer, and if you haven't its online. I don't recommend seeing it though- it was poorly crafted and didn't pack any of the laughs or magic from the film. So those avoiding this film due to its lousy trailer should give this one a chance. It's really funny. I was blown away by the cleverness and originality in this film. The first 40 minutes had me on the floor in hysterics- my only problem was that it unnecessarily evolved into a bad Austin Powers film in the final 20. This however, is one of the few films where the campy ending didn't make me dislike the rest of the film (which is normally the case). Everyone gives a great performance (especially Joan Cusack) and there are some really great moments throughout. I personally plan on seeing it again when it comes out- only to catch all the details which I was laughing over during the first viewing!

I truly enjoyed this film, as did most everyone else at the World Premier in Toronto. Firstly, I haven't seen Spinal Tap, but of all the rest of his films, this is my favorite. His decision to depart the mockumentary format worked wonders in his favor. He didn't change his format so dramatically that you're unaware you're watching a Guest movie, it still carries his stamp. What he's done with this format is find a way to shave off all the somewhat boring bits that his other movies had durring the middle. Every second of this film was completely entertaining and will have you on the floor with laughter. The way he pokes fun of the silliness surrounding the Academy Awards is hilarious.

Guest himself probably gave my favorite performance as the director of "Home for Purim", with Jennifer Collidge coming in second as the producer. I truly can't wait to see this movie again when it goes wide release.

I thought the movie was pretty entertaining as a piece of fiction. Sure it had its flaws, but on the whole it could have been a lot worse. The major flaw, i found, was that it lacked any real build-up to climactic events. It seemed as though Ron Howard made the film under the supposition that everyone has read the book (which wouldn't be all that inaccurate). Therefore he didn't give the turning points the proper feeling of anticipation and build as the book did. I never felt as though the characters were ever making any revelations with the story. It was delivered all-in-all rather blandish. The music didn't help with this either. I felt the music to be rather boring. The most notable example would be the car chase scene where Sophie and Robert escape in Smart Car. Where was the exciting music? It was cut together in an exciting way with fast pace cuts, but the music was lagging. It seemed as though Howard was treating this film as a drama/thriller rather than the fast paced high intensity popcorn entertainment piece the book offered. The result- a fairly light entertainment film that could have been a lot more entertaining!!! But worth seeing non-the-less.