Liberal Arts Survivors' Thread

Kinski

Had the misfortune of catching this absolute piece of **** over the weekend. How I Met Your Mother star Josh Radnor writes, directs, produces and stars in one of the worst films you'll see all year. The protagonist is a goody-two-shoes/insufferable git; the central "growing older" theme is hammered home with a sledge; the performances are **** (Elizabeth Olsen excepted); and the whole thing comes off like Radnor composing a love-letter to himself.

If you've not seen it, swerve it. If you have, then unleash the hate below. And if you actually liked it, tell me why...

johnny_ultimate

I'm normally reluctant to use the word 'pretentious', but I had to make an exception with this film. It's so sure of its own intelligence, but there's really nothing to it. They can talk about Infinite Jest in vague generalities all they want (why did they never mention the book name? Seemed odd. Same with Twilight stuff), but everything is lacking in anything approaching insight, intellectual or otherwise. Some truly cringeworthy moments, like the letter writing montage. Barely anyone in this film resembles genuine human beings, despite the efforts of Olsen - who is easily the strongest link - Jenkins and Janney.

That said - and this is faint praise - there are some funny moments. I liked the scene with the 'pros and cons' list particularly. Perhaps I was just more forgiving of the small handful of scenes that weren't quite so achingly bland or insufferably twee.

Kinski

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

I'm normally reluctant to use the word 'pretentious', but I had to make an exception with this film. It's so sure of its own intelligence, but there's really nothing to it. They can talk about Infinite Jest in vague generalities all they want (why did they never mention the book name? Seemed odd. Same with Twilight stuff), but everything is lacking in anything approaching insight, intellectual or otherwise. Some truly cringeworthy moments, like the letter writing montage. Barely anyone in this film resembles genuine human beings, despite the efforts of Olsen - who is easily the strongest link - Jenkins and Janney.

That said - and this is faint praise - there are some funny moments. I liked the scene with the 'pros and cons' list particularly. Perhaps I was just more forgiving of the small handful of scenes that weren't quite so achingly bland or insufferably twee.

It was pretentious in an odd way, like it wanted to position itself as a film for lovers of more esoteric, more 'highbrow' cultural artefacts, but at the same time feared that alienating any of its viewers with talk of obscure or difficult books or music would undermine its gestures towards the universal theme of growing older.

For instance, that horrid letter-writing sequence is largely about the mixtape of music which the Olsen character had recently 'discovered,' and was introducing her new friend to. Yet the soundtrack played one of the most famous pieces of classical music ever composed, one we all probably heard before we turned 10, and which I doubt anyone has any trouble appreciating. And that's the thing about classical music: pretty much everyone likes Beethoven, or at least the famous bits.

A more credible scenario could have seen them bond through a shared love of some obscure composer who wrote self-consciously 'difficult' music...but that would have run the risk of turning off the viewer, since most would not enjoy such music.

The film was setting itself up in such a way that it needed to perform a difficult balancing act, keeping fans of David Foster Wallace AND fans of Twilight books onside, but its solution was simply a cop-out.

marwelie

Well I thought it was great ;P

Otacon

I went to see this last weekend and thought it was good. Elisabeth Olsen and Richard Jenkins were very good, and there were a few laughs too.

Not sure it needs a 'survivor's thread' tbh.

Kinski

Actually I should have spared Jenkins in my earlier posts; he was (and is always, from what I've seen) good. But I stand by the survivors' thread.

delbertgrady

Jesus. I've not seen it, but it must be truly horrendous if the trio of Elizabeth Olsen, the fabulous Allison Janney and the always-reliable Richard Jenkins can't salvage it. I almost want to see it now. :rolleyes:

snausages

I haven't even heard of it but from what I gather it's a movie about David Foster Walrus, hipsters and other pretentious pap?

johnny_ultimate

snausages wrote: »

I haven't even heard of it but from what I gather it's a movie about David Foster Walrus, hipsters and other pretentious pap?

I wish. If the characters actually illustrated a capacity to discuss David Foster Wallace novels or classical music intelligently and in depth, then this would have been a more convincing film. Instead, the most insightful observations boil down to the fact that Infinite Jest is long and the author committed suicide.

This is a film about clueless people feigning intelligence and insight, yet is done without irony or self-awareness.