Wish I Appreciated These
Submitted by jim on Tue, 02/20/2001 - 09:19
Tags:
- Boys Don't Cry * - I had no sympathy for any of the characters, and I wasn't engaged enough to see how it turned out. Well-acted, though.
- Smoke - A movie can be about normal people leading normal lives, but there should be something exceptional or noteworthy about them. Why would i want to watch a bunch of actors pretending to be plain old people in plain old circumstances? Don't get me wrong - I like plain old people in real life; just not on the big screen.
- Election * - I hope to take another crack at this one someday; I wasn't in the mood to watch the impending train wreck - unfortunate timing.
- Short Cuts * - Completely uninterested after thirty minutes - couldn't bear to go on.
- High Fidelity * - When I read the book, I kept waiting for our loser hero to redeem himself. He fell short. Rented the movie because it looked funnier somehow. It wasn't, and I feared I'd end up with the same unredeemed loser at the end of the movie that I had at the end of the book. The book was praised for nailing "how guys think". I don't think like that, so maybe that's why it turned me off.
- Princess Mononoke - It pains me to add this, as I so wanted to love it. It was epic. An ambitious movie of grand proportions. I always enjoy skillful blurring of good and evil, and that was done well here. I was impressed, but ultimately unmoved. Alas.
- Simple Men - Rented this and Amateur because lbangs thinks so highly of Hal Hartley. Amateur keeps coming back to me; I liked it. Simple Men, however, didn't affect me the same way. I'm not sure why. Perhaps because it was just slightly weirder, and Amateur was already right on the edge for me.
- Meet the Parents - This had some really good laughs, but I really found myself cringing on our hero's behalf too often for me to fully enjoy the movie.
Author Comments:
This started off as a "turned off/walked out" list (indeed, I didn't make it to the end of the starred entries), but as it grew I realized that I just must be missing something in these, since everybody else seemed to like them.
Jim, I'm a little surprised at your take on "Boys Don't Cry". I thought that (damn, now that I can't think of her name) the main character's pathological lying and obvious socialization problems would affect you as it did me. Even though I knew what would happen, I had to watch it to the end.
I've expanded my list comments a bit.
I see your point. I think one of my problems was that I failed to feel that our main character's behavior was pathological. While I clearly should have felt that she had no or minimial control over her actions, I didn't. So I couldn't feel anything for her. I just wanted her to knock off the self-destructive behavior. That she couldn't was clearly part of the point, but I couldn't get into that. So I shut it off. Sometimes I'm in the mood to watch broken people, but this wasn't one of those nights. I should probably give the second half another shot, if I ever have an opportunity.
good point yourself, Jim. Glad you expanded your comments. I think I understand now the problem with the film. I was very impressed with Hillary Swank (had to look it up) and her supporting actors/actresses. Truth be told, I think that I was ingrossed by story was because I know self-destructive people who just can't "knock it off". They are "broken people", as you say. Still, all that aside, it was a bleak movie, and not much for idle, well-deserved entertainment.
Well, thanks for giving Simple Men a shot. I watched it again recently, and while I still love it, I do believe Amateur to be the better film. Simple Men is indeed a bit odder than Amateur, and there is one sequence about 1/3 way through the film that I'm not sure is truly sucessful, but I still love the film.
Like Amateur, I grow to like Simple Men more each time I see it. Both films are rathered layered, and Hartley's invented aesthetic is one of the most original and effective creations of the 90s (if initially off-putting).
Again, thanks for giving the films a try. Sorry if I encouraged you to waste a few bucks!
I am very glad to see that I am not the only person who was disappointed by Election!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
It certainly wasn't a waste. And my satisfaction percentage is still quite high when I rent something from one of your lists.
Based on my reaction to Amateur and Simple Men, should I try other Hartley movies, or do I have a fair sample under my belt?
You're so not alone on that "Meet the Parents" front. What a waste of Ben Stiller and Robert DeNiro. But apparently most of the rest of America disagrees with us. If it's any consolation, my Dad and brother were also mostly unamused.
Thanks! So far, of these, Meet the Parent is the one I feel least bad about not appreciating (if that makes any sense), but it's still good to know I'm not alone. For most of the other movies here, I feel like I should give them another shot one of these days (well, except Smoke).
Come on Jim..Boy's Don't Cry, Short Cuts and High Fidelity? Come on Jim. Really.
I know, I know. Well, I have a "Guilty Pleasures" list for movies I like. Consider this my guilt list for movies I don't like.
I should give Boys Don't Cry another chance when I'm more in the mood to watch the impending train wreck. Think I caught it on the wrong night.
I remember being intensely bored by Short Cuts. I might give it another try, since lots of folks here I respect seem to think highly of it.
I don't feel too bad about High Fidelity though. I stand by my explanation above. I'm sure it was well done, and I love John Cusack, but I just found our "hero" too sleazy for the humor to carry.