It has a strange story with strange characters with a strange structure. Now, I like strange movies, like The Big Lebowski (Which I feel this movie was trying to be like.), but I don't know, I think this one might be a little too all over the place for my liking. Well, what's the story? Matthew McConaughey plays Moondog, a drunken pot smoking coke snorting womanizer. He is also a brilliant poet. He's also married, but his wife is well aware of his habits and is 100% okay with them. They love each other very much. But one day, his wife dies in a car accident and leaves him and their daughter with her entire fortune. However, he isn't getting any of the money until he matures and writes his novel. From there, Moondog kind of just wanders around from weird character and weird situation to another weird character and weird situation. It is very meandering and it doesn't really have much of a focus. Now, The Big Lebowski is also pretty all over the place, but it had really strong characters, strong performances, a ton of great comedy and genuinely fascinating philosophy. I don't feel like The Beach Bum really had that. A lot of the performances are fairly one-note and they got kind of old, such as the main character and his friend played by Snoop Dogg. The cast is very hit or miss. Zac Efron and Isla Fisher were good, but Jonah Hill wasn't great. It's a mixed bag. The movie has a good soundtrack, the editing had some personality, and this movie is very colourful. All the colours are super warm and nice to look at. It really does feel like chilling on the beach in the summertime. That's another thing I enjoyed, I liked the laid-back chill vibe this movie has. I was never bored. I got some laughs out of this movie, but I wouldn't say it was hilarious. I also appreciated that this movie was unapologetically trashy. There's drugs and sex everywhere! Definitely not for kids! Overall, this movie is okay. It has some personality and some laughs, but it's just a little bit too unfocused for me. Check it out if you like raunchy comedies, but otherwise just stick with The Big Lebowski.
Review of The Beach Bum
