Not at all like Heaven
SPOILERS AHEAD.
Today I saw "Just Like Heaven," partly because I took an afternoon nap and woke up too tired to trek into Manhattan for the movie I really wanted to see. But also I think I secretly wanted to use it as a litmus test to see if I've numb to bad movies, based on my string of rave reviews.
But, no! It's a really bad movie and I disliked it immensely. Yay, I still have taste! Seriously, I am a softie when it comes to romantic comedies, so I did not go to this film expecting Academy Award material. I don't mind silly escapism. I like a lot of the lighter fluffy stuff: "Two Weeks Notice," "Hitch," "13 Going on 30," just to name a few recent ones I enjoyed. But this film combines the worst of them all: lame story, little chemistry between the leads, gag-me dialog, painfully overly dramatic climax. It has a great message, too: forget modern medicine, all you need to wake up from a coma is a kiss from a cute guy! That's about when my stomach turned, when I realized the film was taking the very serious, very complicated decision of living wills and turning it into a wacky plot point.
My friend M. and I have this thing about Mark Ruffalo - he is like the ugly/pretty girl on Seinfeld, who flips from hot to not from scene to scene without warning. Ruffalo is like that - it's a result of his crooked face and odd smile, which sometimes looks like he's grimacing and other times can be endearing. In "13 Going On 30" he had his cute moments, but unfortunately in this film, not a one. Probably a result of his character's being devastatingly miserable throughout most of the film - oh, until the very end when LOVE! CONQUERS! ALL!!!
And, yes, I applauded at the end of "Fever Pitch" when Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Farrell got together. I'm not heartless. This film just didn't have enough heart, or mind, to make me care.
Today I saw "Just Like Heaven," partly because I took an afternoon nap and woke up too tired to trek into Manhattan for the movie I really wanted to see. But also I think I secretly wanted to use it as a litmus test to see if I've numb to bad movies, based on my string of rave reviews.
But, no! It's a really bad movie and I disliked it immensely. Yay, I still have taste! Seriously, I am a softie when it comes to romantic comedies, so I did not go to this film expecting Academy Award material. I don't mind silly escapism. I like a lot of the lighter fluffy stuff: "Two Weeks Notice," "Hitch," "13 Going on 30," just to name a few recent ones I enjoyed. But this film combines the worst of them all: lame story, little chemistry between the leads, gag-me dialog, painfully overly dramatic climax. It has a great message, too: forget modern medicine, all you need to wake up from a coma is a kiss from a cute guy! That's about when my stomach turned, when I realized the film was taking the very serious, very complicated decision of living wills and turning it into a wacky plot point.
My friend M. and I have this thing about Mark Ruffalo - he is like the ugly/pretty girl on Seinfeld, who flips from hot to not from scene to scene without warning. Ruffalo is like that - it's a result of his crooked face and odd smile, which sometimes looks like he's grimacing and other times can be endearing. In "13 Going On 30" he had his cute moments, but unfortunately in this film, not a one. Probably a result of his character's being devastatingly miserable throughout most of the film - oh, until the very end when LOVE! CONQUERS! ALL!!!
And, yes, I applauded at the end of "Fever Pitch" when Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Farrell got together. I'm not heartless. This film just didn't have enough heart, or mind, to make me care.
posted by medusa at 10:23 PM
2 Comments:
I never go to movies, I just never have cared for them. If I'm gonna throw money away, it's going to be enjoyed in my stomache. My daughter got bitten by a brown recluse spider in a movie theatre. And I hate that sticky goop on the floors.
I'm a bitch.
Well, if i were a movie goer, I'd be thanking you. and since i'm not, THANK YOU, for seeing something that now i KNOW i never will.
:)
I love movies... can you tell? Luckily my local theater has relatively clean floors... or maybe I just sit in the front while the messy spillers tend to sit in the back!
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