Ceticultsot
Beautiful, moving film.
ChanFamous
I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
Kaelan Mccaffrey
Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
Logan
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
peter-patti
William Boyd's "Stars and Bars" - the book - stands in the great tradition of the English comic novel (Evelyn Waugh being one of Boyd's masters and inspirators). Now, I've seen the film only in German language... That's a pity because of the resulting demi-lack of Englishman-in-New-York-effects. As you can image, the German translation cannot be that perfect. I guess that the linguistical misunderstandings between the "hero" (Day Lewis) and the bizarre Georgian family with Anglophobic slursare are ten times funnier in the original version (as they are in the book). Anyway, I liked the film immediately and I'm happy to have taped it. Great cast! Unforgettable: Maury Chaykin as Elvis-like Freeborn.
elisaberger
Oh, how I would love to own this on DVD! A marvelous job by Daniel Day
Lewis, Harry Dean Stanton, Joan Cusack and Glann Headley. In my opinion
it
is a deep South tour-de-farce. I guess you have to have lived there to
appreciate the humorous poke at what lies behind the moss-covered trees
that
line the backroads of the South. It reminds me of Out on a Limb, a
similar
Southern dark comedy with Matthew Broderick. Both are hysterical
weekends
with people whose family trees "don't branch!!" You'll never see Lewis
doing this whimsy again, except perhaps as the pansy boyfriend in "Room
with
a View" which he did at about the same time. Both characters are played
with equal artistic integrity he grants all his roles. Kudos and many
laughs to all!
eno2000
This is one of those rare films that seems to divide into only two
groups:
You will only be able to love or hate this movie. However, I think the
previous reviews leave out an essential element to determining which camp
you fall into: whether you are interested in the actors (based on
previous
roles) or the film.The best way to give you some idea of what to expect is the usual
vehicle:
comparison with other films. If you loved Martin Scorcese's film, After
Hours or enjoyed Something Wild (with Melanie Griffith and Jeff Daniels)
or
were even guiltily amused by Who's That Girl (Madonna and Griffin Dunne),
then you will probably like this movie. Stars and Bars uses a similar
formula of "straight laced, uptight man" being taken for a wild adventure
by
"free-spirited, sexy woman".Obviously, this would put someone like Daniel Day-Lewis into the right
role
(a tightly wound serious man), but in a very different universe from
films
like "My Left Foot" and "The Age of Innocence". If you are hoping for
another period piece or serious art, this film is not for you. Luckily,
I
happen to like films that range from Wim Wenders to the latest Adam
Sandler
vehicle. :)
roisinmoriarty
Like a lot people unfortunate enough to see this film, I chose to watch it because Daniel Day Lewis was in it. I mean, I've seen this guy play Hamlet on stage; I know what he's capable of so what on earth possessed him to make such a breathtakingly terrible film? Come to think of it, what possessed Harry Dean Stanton, Joan Cusack and Laurie Metcalf? They're all good actors and I just can't understand why they had anything to do with such unadulterated tripe.Thankfully I'd actually taped the film to watch later so I was able to stop and start and eventually just scan through it to see what the final outcome was. Needless to say, the conclusion to this truly lame movie was as bad as the rest of it.If you're curious about "Stars and Bars" and are thinking that maybe you'll take a peek if you come across it just to see how bad it really is; do yourself a favour and don't bother. It's not even worth seeing for that reason.As for Day Lewis, Dean Stanton, Cusack and Metcalf: hang your heads in shame people; you're all smart enough to know better.