Shopgirl
10-24-05, 05:31 AM
#1
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Thread Starter
Shopgirl
Got a chance to see this last Thursday night. Jason Schwartzman is in top form here. Absolutely hilarious. The movie was pretty solid...even if flawed. I loathed the voice-over (poorly delivered, and should've been done by somebody other than Steve Martin anyway...his character just shouldn't have been delivering the lines of voiceover, especially at the end of the film). I also hated the huge changes of pace. The comedy during the first act of the film was awesome. It just seemed like Martin didn't have enough confidence to keep it going throughout. Either that, or he didn't want to mix it in with the film's dramatic happenings.
There were a lot of pluses, though. Schwartzman, for one. The direction was great, too. The movie had an awesome feel to it (can't really put it into words, I just liked the mood of the movie, it wasn't like your typical, by the numbers romantic comedy). That's probably due to the great camerawork. I also thought Claire Danes was pretty good in her role (even if I didn't fall in love with her character like I did with Scarlett in Lost in Translation, or Natalie in Garden State). Steve Martin showed some dramatic skill, but that's expected since the role was pretty much written for him by him, and was loosely based on past events in his own life. He's still not anywhere in the neighborhood of award-winning form, but he suffices. The story was a good one, never too hammy. The drama is great, the comedy is great...even though, like I said, I wish there was more of a mix as opposed to drastic swings from one to the other.
I'd give it a 6.5, maybe 7/10. It's worth watching, though I wouldn't seek it out in a theater unless you're a frequent moviegoer. I think this is the best way to put it: if you're looking for something to see in a theater on a given weekend, this will probably be one of the better movies playing at the time. However, it won't end up on (m)any critics' top-xx lists for the year. Good, not great.
-JP
There were a lot of pluses, though. Schwartzman, for one. The direction was great, too. The movie had an awesome feel to it (can't really put it into words, I just liked the mood of the movie, it wasn't like your typical, by the numbers romantic comedy). That's probably due to the great camerawork. I also thought Claire Danes was pretty good in her role (even if I didn't fall in love with her character like I did with Scarlett in Lost in Translation, or Natalie in Garden State). Steve Martin showed some dramatic skill, but that's expected since the role was pretty much written for him by him, and was loosely based on past events in his own life. He's still not anywhere in the neighborhood of award-winning form, but he suffices. The story was a good one, never too hammy. The drama is great, the comedy is great...even though, like I said, I wish there was more of a mix as opposed to drastic swings from one to the other.
I'd give it a 6.5, maybe 7/10. It's worth watching, though I wouldn't seek it out in a theater unless you're a frequent moviegoer. I think this is the best way to put it: if you're looking for something to see in a theater on a given weekend, this will probably be one of the better movies playing at the time. However, it won't end up on (m)any critics' top-xx lists for the year. Good, not great.
-JP
10-24-05, 05:58 AM
#3
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Shannon Nutt
Why should anyone but Martin have done the voice-over? It's HIS story, for heaven's sake! 
Spoiler:
All of that, plus the fact that he just doesn't give a good delivery. I'm a sucker for voiceovers in movies...I mean, really, I love voiceover. So, it aggrivates me whenever it's not handled properly. Like I said, once you actually see the movie, you'll understand my complaint.
-JP
