JimRochester

Saw this last night. Was surprised this was more drama than comedy and didn't expect Steve Carell and ROb Corddry to be straight men. And Steve was a jerk at that. A little more heart than Adventureland. Sam Rockwell and Allison Janney made the film worth watching. A solid C+

dave-o

Just watched this, as it's now on HBO. Excellent film. The acting is top notch, just the right amount of humor, schmaltz, and drama. Rockwell and Janney are stellar, with solid performances from everyone else as well. It has a way of feeling nostalgic without being cheesy or out of date. This is definitely one if my favorite films that I've seen this year...

Throwing Copper

Totally agree. I loved this movie.

I saw it several months ago and just put it on the DVR on cable tonight so I can watch again.

I enjoyed seeing Carell in this type of role.

d2cheer

This was an out of nowere movie for me. I was stunned how much I enjoyed it. I liked Carell in this as well. Very different type of role for him and a good choice.

EddieMoney

One of the best films I saw last year.

Coral

This along with "The Kings of Summer" were definitely two of the better films last year.

dave-o

When I finished this movie I was tempted to watch it again, right then...

One of my all time favorite movies is 'About A Boy', and this movie had a very similar vibe at times (and not just because of Toni Collette)...

andy434343

This movie most certainly was very cool. Rockwell is the man. That guys always steals the show. But there was so much more to like than just him. Great cast with excellent chemistry together.

But Rockwell.....that dude rocks. As of this point in my life; the fantasy version of myself would contain parts of myself, parts of Bodhi, and all of Sam Rockwell.

I would be cooler that Bradley Cooper and Mathew McConaughey combined.

kantonburg

Wife and I were home sick yesterday and just happened to stumble upon this. Much better than we thought it would be. Neither of us had heard about it or if we did had forgotten about it.

Worth the watch.

PenguinJoe

Yea, it's been playing on HBO a lot.

Crocker Jarmen

Just saw this on Netflix, I was blown away by how great Sam Rockwell was in this movie. He took a character that should have come across as pathetic and irritating and made him the most likable person I've ever seen in a movie. How come he isn't the biggest star in the world if he's capable of giving off that kind of energy and charisma?

Because I'm such a geek, I loved seeing the old Star Wars figures, and in fact paused the movie so I could look close and see which figures the kids was playing with (I liked he had Bespin Luke making out with Hoth Leia instead of Bespin Leia).

Took me a moment to recognize Jim Rash with all that hair.

There were quite a few scenes that felt too forced and cheesy (the embarrassing black kids teach white kid to dance and decide he is cool, the confrontation at the clam bake), and I wondered why they bothered having the character of Carrel's daughter in the movie. Did she have a ton of scenes cut out? She contributed nothing to the story.

Overall, enjoyed the movie, and was astounded by how good Sam Rockwell's performance was. Outstanding.

Cellar Door

Just watched this, and I'll chime in with those who loved it. Though I recognized Jim Rash, I didn't realize until I opened this thread that he and his writing partner from The Descendants (who I now know is the guy who plays Roddy in this) had written and directed this. I eagerly await their next project.

Rockwell is terrific. The scene when Duncan first meets Owen at the Pac-Man machine is great. Liam James, who plays Duncan, does a great job as the socially awkward teen. AnnaSophia Robb is, as always, charming. Toni Collette is awesome.

Loved the retro feel to it. I was a kid in the 70s/80s and this definitely had the vibe of that era in all the waterpark scenes.

Daytripper

Shit, I'm such a dumb ass. I've seen this movie twice and had no idea it took place in the 70's and 80's. Thought the video game was just an old. Same with the Carell's car.

Cellar Door

No, it's set in modern times. It just has some intentional (I presume) references to nostalgia--like the car, the Pac-Man game, and the frozen-in-time (not literally) water park.

EctoCooler

Decent flick but very forced. Very little of it rings true, from Rockwell's perfectly timed, machine-gun retorts to the hot girl stalking the anti-social creepy weirdo that goes around riding a pink girl's bicycle.

Daytripper

You know, I loved the movie and everyone in it except the kid who played Duncan. I thought he was terrible. Didn't help that he's a weird looking actor. And yes, I know the character is supposed to weird and awkward. I just didn't like him at all. Thankfully, as I said, the rest of the cast and the acting/writing were fantastic.

OldBoy

the kids in my Psychology class loved this. could really appreciate the social anxiety disorder Duncan had.

Coral

Not sure if anyone noticed, but the kid in this movie is Sarah Linden's son in "The Killing". It's easy to forget because the son's inclusion in that show was pretty pointless and the show sucked to boot.