atari2600

seriously...i just didnt get it. was there a point or was it an excuse to get a lot of big name actors into a movie? was there some sort of intelligent humor that i missed? was there a deep underlying story? and why throw in such a gross sex scene?

was it as bad as i thought it was? what did you guys think about it?

Giles

This movie was largely waaaay overrated. I didn't care for it. The acting and forced humour was smug. The dialogue felt like one of those type of people who like to hear themselves speak and no one else, kind of like Waking Life where you feel compelled to yell at the scream "for the love of god, please SHUT UP!"

wendersfan

I liked it when I saw it, quite a bit actually, but I haven't given it much thought since I've seen it. In some ways the movie was a send up of various societal issues and archetypes, like rampant commercialism, new age/holistic therapy, and environmental protests, but it didn't amount to a whole lot. Still, Naomi Watts was hot in it, and anything with Isabelle Huppert isn't a total waste of time.

atari2600

yeah i had that same thought.

Third Baseman

I love it. Couldn't tell you why. It's just one of those movies that you find to be extremely silly, thought provoking, and uniquely funny, but doesn't really amount to anything in the end. Not everyone's type of film. But, I laughed throughout.

The Bus

It was one of the oddest movies I have ever seen. It feels like how life is when you have a fever, where everything is just a bit not right, but not frightening or maddening, just irritating, but not to the point where you want to complain.

I imagine this was DOR's intent, and as such, the film succeeds, even if I didn't especially like it.

atari2600

then what was the point of the scenes with the little boxes flying around and breaking up their faces into pieces?

Mr. Cinema

These are thoughts I have for Napolean Dynamite as well.

Geofferson

I don't understand the praise for this movie. I saw it a few weeks back and did not care for it all. It was an aimless mess with no sense of direction, IMO.

Giles

ditto.

Cusm

Maybe you have to be a philosophy major to really get it. I did not care for this at all.

Ginwen

Not a philosophy major, but I enjoyed it both times I've seen it. Quite a bit--it's one of the few recent releases I actually bothered to buy. I didn't get any great truths from it or learn anything, I just found it funny (which is rare, hardly any movies are funny).

Homer Simpson

At least it didn't follow the same formula most movies seem to follow. That alone made it interesting, same with Napolean Dynamite for that matter. I'm not compelled to own either of them or even watch them a second time, but I don't feel like I wasted 3 hours of my life watching them either. Glad I saw them on DVD instead of paying 8 bucks to see them though...

fuzzbox

Shut it off after 45 minutes. I couldn't stand ANY of the characters, and it felt like it wasn't moving anywhere. I can handle a movie meandering for the first 15-20 minutes or so, but after 45 minutes, it STILL didn't have a point to it, so I sent it back. happy I rented instead of bought.

Boy, I wish I'd shut off Napoleon Dynamite after 45 minutes. Why did I stick that one out....

-jason

Dan1boy

Perfection. I'll shut up now.

Puzznic

I felt the same way about the characters except maybe Mark Wahlberg. I hated them all, especially the detectives. This really is one of the few movies that is capable of putting me in a bad mood just by watching it. I love Napoleon Dynamite though.

DamingR

I thought it was one of the best films I saw last year. Rented it and loved it.

It's obviously not for everyone. My wife fell asleep. It's pretty cerebral.

DJLinus

I wanted to love this movie, since Flirting With Disaster is one of my favorite comedies. But I really didn't care for it.

The music by Jon Brion was the best part of it.

(and Naomi Watts was really cute)

BJacks

I started watching this on an airplane of all places, which is probably the worst possible location to see this film. I fell asleep 40 minutes in.

Heartagram

Agree Completely, and couldn't have said it better myself.

Its all about existentialism, we are all connected, or The Blanket.

LiquidSky

I thought it was hilarious and not "waaaay overrated" (a phrase I'm getting tired of). I also loved "Napoleon Dynamite".....just differences of opinion in what some find funny and some don't (I did not think "Team America" was funny in the least...except for the cat/panther scene).

Giles

but "overrated" is the most appropriate and apt term to use, when critics and fans slober over a movie and a few of us actually (god forgive!) disagree and vocally say so. I was so disgusted by this tripe film, that after the movie I actually stated very loud, "Well that was crap!" - and a number of fellow moviegoers actually agreed with me.

To each his own Liquid, but let's not dismiss the fact that everyone has to like or not like a critically acclaimed film.

LiquidSky

That is why I stated in my original post: "Just differences of opinion in what some find funny and some don't". I'm in no way dismissing the fact that individuals are going to have a difference of opinion on films.

I will stand by my statement that the phrase "overrated" is overused to the point of ridiculousness. Again, just my opinion.

Sure critics and fans "slober" over certain films. So what? Critics "slobbered" all over "The English Patient".....a film I cannot stand. No big deal. They liked it and I didn't. Same with all the "Star Wars" fans. If they love it...more power to 'em....I happen to not like the new films. Big deal. So Giles, let's not forget, to each his own.

Chim

This movie was amazing! I've seen it probably 6 times now, and maybe it's more appealing to the "college" audience, but all of my friends love it as well. Except for the extremely fundamentalist ones that is.

It's a movie about life. They go through this entire phase how everything is connected, and how nothing is connected, its just a bunch of characters trying to find justification in their lives and that what they're doing actually matters. It's rather hilarious because it takes existentialism and just kinda heavy handedly forces it down both yours and the characters throat, and the way Jason Schwartzman and Mark Wahlberg react to it totally crazy-style reflects the extreme way in which it polarizes the audience as well. If you think about it in this way, it's really easy to relate with the characters and the whole "bizarre" aspect of the movie becomes a burden that is shouldered by all the characters in the film, rather than yourself.
It's also extremely funny. Schwartzman runs around whining like a little kid in a gucci suit, and Mark Wahlberg gives one of his best performances ever. Just watch the dinner scene with Steve-O, it is impossible not to laugh at the sheer absurdity of the movie. It's a comedy at heart, and it has a Big Lebowski type humor to it that makes the rewatchability go out the roof. Just don't think it's being pretentious or "psychobabble", and you will have a hell of a good time watching how absurd everything is. I love I heart huckabees.

jdpatri

This is pretty much exactly how I feel about the movie.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/review/...9_1_0_,00.html

And the Cream of the Crop on Rotten Tomatoes (51%) would disagree with everyone's assumption that it was widely praised.