- This movie is not, as the trailer would have you believe, a comedy. I was expecting one of those little nuanced tragicomedies. I was misled.
- In case it needs to be clarified: this movie is horribly depressing. Do not go into this thinking you’ll be uplifted.
- I’m mostly sick of anything related to the Baby Boom at this point, and I feel like as a result of Boomers ageing and/or their own parents ageing, we’re seeing an increased number of movies about geriatrics and the tragedies that befall them. This is fine, as geriatrics are probably under-represented in movies outside the “wacky grandma” or “curmudgeonly grandpa” type characters, but it doesn’t make for very uplifting viewing.
- Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman are incredible actors, they really are. This is not the greatest movie ever, but they’re both fantastic in this.
- I’m trying to decide if the writers are clever or annoying for naming two characters, who are coping with the trauma of emerging from a fantasy land and growing up, Jo(h)n and Wendy. I kept saying to myself “If there’s a dog named Nana in this, I’m going to die.” Lo and behold, nearish to the end of the movie I hear someone shout out “Nana!” on screen, but turns out it actually was someone’s grandmother. Whoops.
- Jon’s Polish girlfriend, Kasia, is totally the hooker who gets killed with the chainsaw in American Psycho, FYI. That was a bit distracting.
The Savages
Yet another drama masquerading as a comedy.
IMDB Plot Synopsis A sister and brother face the realities of familial responsibility as they begin to care for their ailing father.