BootDigest
Such a frustrating disappointment
SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
SnoReptilePlenty
Memorable, crazy movie
murnenjm
I gave this movie a spin on a lazy Saturday Morning expecting the bare minimum level of entertainment, like watching Entourage, its currently playing in front of me and moves my needle zero pts above or below the line of demarcation.Good lord this film is absolutely horrendous. I would label this movie a comedy as I believe the attempt was to be funny. However, EVERY scene involving Vince Vaughn (oh wait thats 100% of the movie) drags on endlessly as he regurgitates his overplayed schtick and tired troupes that we've seen in, seemingly, 79 different movies. Someone greenlt him to extend every scene 5-15 minutes too long, with each ending in a blathering monologue from Vince where he uses phrases and facial expressions that he thinks are staples in the American lexicon (and all sound vaguely familiar) but draw little to no reaction at this point.
*The worst offenses being a) scene he and Channing Tatum purport about 1/2 way through the movie that should wrap in about 7 minutes but takes up ~25 minutes due to the repetitive overused character schticks that each actor drones on an extra 2 minutes too long every single time they have a line. b) A toast Vince gives in front of his girlfriend's family (who hes never met even though they've been together for at least 2.5 years- a deduction I made using clues sprinkled throughout the movie) where he hisses at everyone else in the room at least twice (these take a LONG time) and very quickly gets you thinking "man this guys just a dick and wouldn't make it in real life" rather than "oh hes sooo snarky and mean that its funny!"Kevin James is barely in the movie and offers nothing when he is. Whynona Rider's acting is, as usual, not good. Channing Tatum plays a character we've now seen him play in 33 different films.
This review droned on just as long as this movie does. I gave it two stars because I smiled at some point in the movie, although I can't remember when or why. This movie was 2 minutes shy of 2 hours and could have been 50 minutes and left you with the same story and content.
Mr Black
I really enjoyed this movie. Not really a comedy, more of comedy drama. The performances all around really were terrific. Especially Vince Vaughan, Kevin James and Winona Ryder. I'm a huge Winona fan and enjoyed seeing her in this. I think over all the best part of this film was the direction and photography. It was really spectacular and showed a very high level of skill from director Ron Howard and his director of photograph. Very well done. This is a film with a story - no explosions, no special effects - a rarity in this day and age when audiences require ten deaths, 20 explosions and some kind of digital enhancement to be happy. A person who truly knows what film is about, and I'm not talking desk jockey film critics that appear in newspapers, will really know how good this film is.
grey_ham28
I've nearly always enjoyed all four of the leads in this film, and I thought they all delivered pretty strong performances here. A few scenes were pretty poor (using "gay" as a derogation is potentially offensive, the awkward/inappropriate toast was just a cheap way of making the audience uncomfortable--soo tired of directors substituting awkward discomfort for humor), but overall, I was pretty happy with this film.It's not a pure comedy, but it has its comedic moments. Mostly, though, the film is about relationships, and it was refreshing to see a film that allowed the characters to resolve their conflicts in such a healthy way. My biggest concern with the plot is that I can't see how Vaughn's character got himself into such a mess if he's mature enough to handle everything so well. Why didn't he just confide in Connelly's character from the beginning? It makes some sense that he hides it at first, only because he didn't want to reveal his intention to propose, but after she confronts him after his awkward toast at her parents' anniversary, there is no sane reason for him not to confide, and instead he walks out to sleep at his office? That made no sense. Otherwise, a nice dramatic/romantic comedy.
edwagreen
The ramifications when a friend, Vince Vaughn, finds out that his partner's wife has been cheating on him. This plot line is interesting because it shows that this discovery has far reaching effects on everyone concerned. Even Vaughn must stop to ponder his own personal relationship with Jennifer Connelly.This is really not so much a comedy when you think of it. Winona Ryder steals the movie with her acting as the bitchy wife involved with others. She is crude, calculating and will take all down with her so avoid the truth.Yes, there are some funny scenes, but the film really has serious overtones when you think of it. The problem here is that the overtones are greatly played out.
