I went to the advance screening last night (thanks Film Metro)I was kind of disappointed in Maya and John's representations of their characters;however, Chris Messina really made the movie for me. I wanted the Montreal section to be longer because of him.
Overall I would give the movie a C+ but would watch again, only for Chris Messina.
so, it's not perfect... but it had me laughing out loud a handful of times and really wanting nuthin' but good things for this couple.
it's funny, cuz i just finished reading the book One Big Happy Family, edited by Rebecca Walker.... it's all these essays on family, what family is/means for different writers... personal stories. I feel like this movie was a little bit of that book - Verona and Burt go on a search to figure out where they want to start their family and end up passing time with a disparate group of families. Through all of that to come to conclusions about what they do and don't want for themselves and their family.
Maya is scarcastically funny, but with rounded edges in place of biting sharp ones. She plays Verona as cautious, slightly fearful but ultimately trusting. John's Burt is the one full of nuthin' but hope and blind trust.
The people they visit are all extreme versions of families either totally disfunctional, or trying to embodying some sort of nontraditional lifestyle. The bits in Montreal and Miami felt more real than the others.
I wish they had elborated more on Verona & her sister and what their family was like.
It was written by David Eggers and his partner/wife (??). I wonder how much of it is autobiographical for them?
_____________________________ the more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your actions will be. -HHDL
5. "what else has he been in besides Jarhead?" In response to Reply # 2
------- "A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards. More than that no man is entitled, and less than that no man shall have." - TR
Some will be bugged by its episodic script, and some will be bugged by the somewhat-cartoony supporting characters (I was definitely much happier when Allison Janney and Maggie Gyllenhaal weren't onscreen), but I was stunned at how uncynical and pleasant the film was.
Much more than I was expecting to. I'm with Longo and the warmth and sincerity thing. That's what really won me over about it. The sad parts were genuinely sad, the poignant parts were genuinely poignant, and the funny parts were genuinely funny. Not at all the hipster quirk-fest I was expecting.
Frank Longo Member since Nov 18th 2003 86831 posts
Tue Jun-30-09 11:38 AM
15. "They aren't suburban. In fact, the suburban families ARE fucked up, lol." In response to Reply # 13
They live in a fucked-up rented shack in Colorado with no heat in the winter, then travel around town in their Ford POS looking at suburban lives which all are unhappy or misguided to some degree.
If anything, it reinforces that suburban stereotype, lol. What it DOES have that American Beauty and Revolutionary Road didn't have was a depiction of smart warm people in love.
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