I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up in my top 20 for the 2000's.

Loved it. Loved it. Loved it.

First comment: Disappointing.

Fantastic idea, crudely implemented.

I blame the writer for: In Con Sis Ten C Y.

Final comment: 3 out of 5.

Loved it. Sweet, melancholy, intelligent, witty, and just lovely. Ferrell has never been better and Gyllenhaal and Thompson lend great support.

Grade - A

On second viewing, I'm absolutely siding with bradley. It's an incredibly inconsistent film, and really pretty slight. I was less impressed with Will Ferrell then I am surprised everyone's so surprised he could be this capable. Great message at the end, and it had it's heart in the right place, but it's a lot, lot less then the sum of it's parts. C+

I'm glad some of you at least didn't like it...but didn't anyone else here think this was an atomic shit bomb? Anyone? It made Tallagdega Nights look like Dr. Strangelove.

B

It was exactly what I've been expecting it to be for months, guess I'm disappointed that it didn't surprise me in any way at all. It's a solid watch though, and Ferrell is good. With that concept it could've been more though.

Strangely I feel exactly the way about the ending of the film as Hoffman did for the book: They wimped out, and changed it from a fairly great ending to an ok "happy!" one. Truth is that



And I was disappointed they weren't courageous enough to do that.

I don't agree that he needed to, but the point of the movie was pretty half baked (one speech in the middle section and letters at the beginning don't fix a forced, artifical transformation.)

Some small flaws aside, a wonderful film. The Kaufmanesque script in particular is ingenious, even if




The movie can't explain the entire concept (maybe that's part of its charm - its ultimate imperfection? :biggrin: ) , but it leaves us enthralled for its 2 funny and inventive hours.

B+

By the way I saw this is a second time, and realized that I love this movie. A-

eheh, I do get that feeling that it might be a grower

I agree with bABA that the actual "story" being written in the film was pretty stupid and pointless, and it really only worked because it had the reality of things to back it up, but I liked this film. Great performances all around. B

If there's a WOKJ award for the most bizarro analogy, I nominate yoshue!

A

I loved this.

I've seen it twice. (not because I really liked it, just cause my friends wanted to watch it...)

Really enjoyed the cast. Ferrell, Gyllenhaal and Thompson are all really strong here. The concept is interesting but I didn't think it was executed perfectly. Still, an entertaining film.

B+

I thought it was sort of awful. Yuck.

It's pretty great. There's nothing really profound or original, and yes, the story pretty much rests on a very weak assumption that her book is any good, but the actual story is quite strong and the romance is nearly perfect. I thought it was a fascinating take on the kinda midlife crisis-turn-around thing that really works well because of the actors. And the ending is incredible. Though I must say, while I didn't /expect/ an Anchorman type of comedy, I think that a lot of the time I felt kinda uncomfortable, because it is definitely a comedy and way too much of the film has a very tragic tone...I wanted to laugh, but instead just felt sad. I dunno, it doesn't sound like I liked it much, and there are flaws, but I think just the purely visual story playing out in front of my eyes was of very high quality and over powered all the other stuff.

Really engaging, well-acted, and kind of sweet.

But yeah, the script seems to be building to something big, and it never gets there, nor does it really pack any real emotional wallop. The carpe diem message is nice, but I was expecting something... a little bit heavier, especially with such layered material. I also felt like the film missed out on some opportunities to really play with the narration thing, but I think that might have been a little TOO blatantly Kaufman-esque. Or, Adaptation-esque, I suppose.

But really enjoyable. Will Ferrell's really great. B+

I think the story within the story thing being dumb is kind of a nonissue.

It's not like we actually ever get to read the whole book she's writing.

I was surprisingly moved. I had expected the movie to have a major emphasis on comedy, but it also blended some drama very well. The performances were great, especially Ferrell and Thompson. I also very much enjoyed Gyllenhaal and Hoffman. I enjoyed the ending so much more than I would have had it went the other way.

B+

thompson really deserved a nod here

B+

Maybe, but many times the book is stated to be about Harold Crick. I guess one might have some merit if they suggested that we were to assume the bus driver and child on the bicycle had some sort of death occur that would make things so profound. However, the narration that is seen to be the exact words she's writing certainly aren't particularly eloquent or the making of a great work of literature.

That said, I agree with most of your other thoughts on your film. I wouldn't be surprised if the narration had been used more and the ending wasn't so much about just living. It's a nice message that could make just about any movie seem pleasant, but for me it felt sort of tacked on, like there was something deeper under the surface thrown away in exchange for that.

Pretty slight and sometimes awkward comedy/drama, propelled only by a great cast and interesting visuals. It's not laugh-out-loud funny, which is fine, but it's not even clever or witty for much of it, and many times the joke attempts just fall flat. The drama portions are heavy-handed and melodramatic, and the romance feels rushed and, as a result, becomes unbelievable. The acting is terrific, though - Will Ferrell is great playing against type, Dustin Hoffman is quietly funny, and Emma Thompson and Queen Latifah are both solid. But Maggie Gyllenhaal steals the show, coming across as both funny and sad. I liked the writing and diagrams on screen to represent Crick's thought process, and the look of the film is adequately quirky, but the story just leads up to nothing. Somewhat disappointing.

I found it very touching and enjoyable. Ferrell was solid, but Gyllenhaal and Thompson were fantastic. Such a nice, likable flick. A-

***Super large spoilers***

I was SO, SO, SO absolutely, colossally disappointed that Harold didn't die at the end. I think it would have been far more poignant and emotional had he died (after accepting his death for the greater good of art), and that Karen the writer had not changed her story. To me, that message alone spoke volumes. It was an added bonus that he died while saving the life of a child. It would have been just been much better for me, because I thought the entire build up to it was for the most part done so well. I was ready for Crick to tragically die only after just starting to become "someone" through his time with a new woman who opened him up and his final moments in life; all of this after a life of obsessive organization and dullness.

Instead the film ended with him propped up in a hospital bed and the whole cliche. Not what I wanted.

Peace,
Mike.

It felt a little Truman Show-ish at times, but it did manage to set itself apart. I liked the performances, the quirkiness, and thought it was fun to watch.

It definitely was not perfect - it had a few moments that were slow, and I had a few plot issues - like the book she was writing being an incredibly boring book (it's nice to see somebody else mentioned this!). But, in the end it held my attention, I was entertained, and it felt like a unique flick

A-