Good lord, how could this movie be this bad? It has everything going for it -- a top-notch ensemble cast at the top of their games, a somewhat interesting premise, and a great first twenty minutes. But then everything starts to go down hill, really fast. The story starts to mimic every other suburbanite neo-noir murder-mystery ever made.
One of the film's many problems was how the characters were under written, by the time the "surprise" twist hits you at the end of the film, do you really care? There was not one character that was even REMOTELY interesting throughout the entire film -- with the exception of Kevin Bacon's mildly amusing cameo. Steve Martin was dull. Laura Dern was too over-the-top. Helena Bonham Carter wasn't weird enough. Scott Caan over acted too much. Elias Koteas was under used. Like aforementioned -- Kevin Bacon was the only remotely funny player in this train wreck.
I went into this film wanting to like it. I expected to see a totally messed up and twisted dark comedy in the vein of Peter Berg's "Very Bad Things" or Danny DeVito's under appreciated "Death to Smoochy". What I got was an under written, poorly performed C-Movie that should have debuted on Cinemax and starred Don "The Dragon" Wilson or Andrew Stevens.
The film's other main failure was that it was neither funny nor shocking. I couldn't decide if this was supposed to be a black comedy or a neo-noir thriller. I was disappointed when it wasn't either. There was nothing remotely shocking or disturbing in this film, and the surprise twists are lame.
I wanted to smack the director so many times. His constant use of X-Ray wipes and bizarre dental-related dissolves really got on my nerves as the movie progressed. It was neither clever, nor artistic, but annoying. It's because of the aforementioned "artistic style" that poseur film buffs will rant and rave about how this movie is so avant garde and therefore brilliant.
So, would I recommend this movie -- no. If you're looking for a good Steve Martin flick, rent The Jerk or Bowfinger, do yourself a favor and stay away from this wretched pile of trash.
Out of a possible **** stars, I have to give this one a *
One of the film's many problems was how the characters were under written, by the time the "surprise" twist hits you at the end of the film, do you really care? There was not one character that was even REMOTELY interesting throughout the entire film -- with the exception of Kevin Bacon's mildly amusing cameo. Steve Martin was dull. Laura Dern was too over-the-top. Helena Bonham Carter wasn't weird enough. Scott Caan over acted too much. Elias Koteas was under used. Like aforementioned -- Kevin Bacon was the only remotely funny player in this train wreck.
I went into this film wanting to like it. I expected to see a totally messed up and twisted dark comedy in the vein of Peter Berg's "Very Bad Things" or Danny DeVito's under appreciated "Death to Smoochy". What I got was an under written, poorly performed C-Movie that should have debuted on Cinemax and starred Don "The Dragon" Wilson or Andrew Stevens.
The film's other main failure was that it was neither funny nor shocking. I couldn't decide if this was supposed to be a black comedy or a neo-noir thriller. I was disappointed when it wasn't either. There was nothing remotely shocking or disturbing in this film, and the surprise twists are lame.
I wanted to smack the director so many times. His constant use of X-Ray wipes and bizarre dental-related dissolves really got on my nerves as the movie progressed. It was neither clever, nor artistic, but annoying. It's because of the aforementioned "artistic style" that poseur film buffs will rant and rave about how this movie is so avant garde and therefore brilliant.
So, would I recommend this movie -- no. If you're looking for a good Steve Martin flick, rent The Jerk or Bowfinger, do yourself a favor and stay away from this wretched pile of trash.
Out of a possible **** stars, I have to give this one a *
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