Monday, November 30, 2009
EIGHTIES COMING OF AGE
Today's movie was
There is nothing wrong with a good coming of age film especially if it uses the idea of an amusement park as a metaphor for life.
This is a great little film written and directed by Greg Mottola who also did Superbad which I liked a lot.
The film stars the delightful Jesse Eisenberg who is in Squid and the Whale which somehow comes out later than this one. Also Kristen Stewart who is the girl in the vampire movies now breaking records.
Bill Hader is very funny and Ryan Reynolds plays the Pittsburgh version of a cad.
There are a lot of familiar tropes from this kind of film but there is also some really great dialogue and, quite amazingly, some quiet times with just plain silent acting that a whole other level of meaning is conveyed.
The music is a bit raucous and the dialogue sometimes gets lost behind it. I worry about this as it happens in so many films. Almost as though the "sounds" are more important than the script.
This is why we sometimes turn on the "hearing impaired" subtitles. You would be amazed if you saw what we are missing.
I liked the film. I liked the kids. I liked the sweetness of the whole thing.
I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5.
*Actually Kennywood Amusement Park — West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, USA
Labels: films
