Friday, July 22, 2016
Bromance
I am revisiting some films that were not 5's on my rating system but which I remember fondly and wanted to see again.
Today was
The title derives from the chances our hero has of recovering from spinal cancer. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen, his buddy, face the trials and tribulations together. Which makes it a buddy picture. And a good one.
It is hard to carry out a bromance film. Everything depends on the actors genuine affection for one another (or superb acting) and this shows between the two principals throughout.
Angelica Huston is the clinging Mom and Anna Kendricks is miscast as the new girlfriend. The old one could not hack the stress of having a sick boyfriend. This unsympathetic role is played very well by Bryce Dallas Howard who may never be seen again except in clips of Rogen reading her beads in a crucial scene. But she is good. We do not mind hating her.
This is a good film to see again because it is the acting that carries it through. Gordon-Levitt is an old favorite and Rogen has matured considerably from his earlier personna as a comical asshole. He is still an asshole but has added "lovable" to it. Good.
This would make it a 5 out of Netflix5 but in the real world it is worth seeing twice and is highly recommended for "once".
