Tweetienator
The concept of a afterlife or place where people who committed suicide live sounded cool and interesting to me and I hoped for a little gem. Sadly, the story develops really slowly and most of the dialogues are imo boring and also the characters are not not captivating. I always had the feel that everything happening was kinda choreographed to look or sound "cool" but it just didn't work this way to me. Too cool, too pretentious artsy, a shallow in disguise, my opinion. Some praise Wristcutters and I won't condemn it. The movie just didn't ring the "right bell" for me. Okayish. But somehow a good but wasted idea.
Steve Pulaski
NOTE: This film was recommended to me by Glen Malec for "Steve Pulaski Sees It." One of the recurring theological debates is where a person who commits suicide is destined to spend eternity; the concept of a person killing themselves has disrupted the dichotomous notion that good people have their eternal souls rest in heaven whilst bad people have their eternal souls rest in hell. In a Christlike sense, a suicidal soul should still go to heaven if they found themselves victim to the pressures of life, or worse, an unrelenting mental illness. In a sense pertaining more towards the Christian doctrine, however, somebody who commits suicide should perhaps go to hell, for their action has made it so they can no longer serve God, in addition to disrupting the sanctity and safety of their body, the temple of God.In Wristcutters: A Love Story, however, people who commit suicide are sent to what is essentially purgatory. It looks largely the same as the real-world, only far bleaker and everyone lacks the ability to smile or even grin and no stars decorate the night sky. This is where we, the audience, find ourselves following Zia's (Patrick Fugit) successful suicide triggered by the recent breakup with his girlfriend. Zia finds himself more miserable in this world than he was in the previous, as he slogs away each and every day with his roommate Eugene (Shea Whigham), a hasbeen rockstar who killed himself by pouring a beer onto an electric guitar.One day, Zia learns that his ex-girlfriend Desiree (Leslie Bibb) has killed himself, which motivates both him and Eugene to take a road-trip across this wasteland to find her. Along the way, they pick up a hitchhiker named Mikal (Shannyn Sossamon), who has just found herself in this world and is searching for the "people in charge" in order to be dealt another hand at life.Wristcutters has the potential to be a seriously downtrodden film, encapsulated in its own misery so deeply that it becomes an unenjoyable experience. It's the kind of material that treads dangerous waters, where if it goes much deeper it risks being too caustic or offensive, but if it lies dormant and sticks to safer material, it risks being too shallow. Early scenes showing Zia's uneventful daily life are some of the most interesting up until he meets Mikal, for we see the real sadness that seems to simply plague him. He claims he thinks more about Desiree now that he has killed himself, and dictates to us through narration that he can just imagine her distraught, but finding solace in cute, romantic sex with other men. That thought eats at him, and writer/director Goran Dukić puts us in the position of a true voyeur; one who witnesses something troubling occurring but is ill-equipped to do anything about it.Patrick Fugit does a nice job as the lead here, playing disconnected and completely unmotivated to do anything. Also very much an engaging presence is Shannyn Sossamon, who comes in just at the right time in the film to prevent it from being a mopey slog. The issue with Wristcutters is despite two very talented performers, it never officially crosses over from being an initially miserable slog to a bleakly funny dark comedy. The film is filled with deadpan, as one would expect, but its joke are never too funny or enlightening to really find amusing, and some frustration builds as the purgatory these characters inhabit goes overlooked in favor of more alone time with the characters.This is the kind of material that really would've benefited from the hand of Mike Judge, who has already proved himself to be a master of satirical comedy, taking jabs at workplace drudgery, eco-friendly liberal conventions, and shallow consumerism. The idea of suicide isn't the first concept for a comedy, but like all ideas, an appropriate approach and direction is always possible to make humor out of the darkest subject. Dukić is so close to striking gold with Wristcutters, however, he seems to be perpetually digging around it as he tries to find something enlightening or relevant to say.Starring: Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon, Shea Whigham, Leslie Bibb, and Tom Waits. Directed by Goran Dukić.
darosslfc
I skirted around watching Wristcutters: A Love Story for awhile because of the name. I think that the film would be watched on a larger scale if it was named after the short story it's based on: Kneller's Happy Campers, or just Happy Campers. That being said I knew I wanted to watch this film after reading many reviews saying it was a dark comedy. And after watching it I think it would be better defined as a quirky comedy. It deals with a dark issue but it doesn't do it in a dark way. I found most of the humor to be more odd ball comedy than dark. The story is about Zia (Patrick Fugit) who commits suicide. When he gets to the afterlife reserved for people who commit suicide he learns that his girlfriend, Desiree (Leslie Bibb), is a recent addition as well. With the help of Eugene (She Whigham) and Mikal (Shanyn Sossamon) he goes a journey to find her.I found this movie to be very up-lifting, contradictory to the name, but again I think Happy Campers would be a better fit for the title. If this film has popped on on your radar for whatever reason don't skirt around it because of the title or subject matter. You will be pleasantly surprised and feel oddly happy after watching it.
