Although this is billed as a comedy, this is really an indie drama with some humorous situations. Not that I mind, of course. The short story of this movie is that dad (Michael Douglas) gets out of the mental institution and goes on a treasure hunt around his home while his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood), who has been living alone - despite being only 15 years old - tries to keep their home life together.
The story is actually kind of cute, but there is also a very tragic underbelly when you start to peel away the layers. Here we have a child (in high school, sure, but technically a child) who has dropped out of school, taken a job at McDonald's, and is trying to make something out of nothing. She is playing the system such that no one realizes that she's living on he own, and is actually making something of her life, even though it is very difficult. When her father is released, he appears to still be quite sick and delusional. He's better than he used to be, according to the flashbacks we see along the way, but his treasure hunt often leaves her wringing her hands as she tries to keep the bills paid (which is difficult when he is buying all kinds of treasure hunting equipment behind her back) and deal with his constant disappearances. When you stop and consider what's really going on... well, it's actually a pretty tragic situation; forcing a child to deal with a mentally ill parent, on her own, while not having the social permission to do all that is necessary to take care of him due to her age. I've got to tell you, on its face, this is a terribly sad movie! Despite all of that, Wood's character is somehow able to keep a sense of humor about everything (even though you can see she is being drained), which gives the movie a twisted 'happy' feel to it.
The cast in this movie is fantastic... which is probably not surprising. But more importantly, despite Douglas' constantly odd behavior, and Wood's apparent acceptance, their reactions feel truly genuine, which has just as much to do with the great script in addition to the high caliber acting. The story is as moving as it is charming, and it really makes for a decent watch. Yeah, this feels more like a drama than a comedy, but I suppose if you were to categorize this movie according to classic greek tradition, technically this would be a comedy. But The Hangover, it's not. This is an enjoyable movie, perhaps in spite of itself, and while I wouldn't say it's "fun" to watch, it was still a pleasant viewing experience. Recommended viewing.
Movie to Skip: Today You Die
Steven Seagal is not a great actor. He is in dire need of both a haircut and personal trainer. And quite frankly, I'm not impressed by waddeling "action" heroes; that's not a swagger, folks, that's an extra 150lbs of corn dogs swaying to and fro on the big screen, and I'm not impressed -- particularly when he's supposed to be jumping over tables, swinging from chandeliers and climbing grappeling hooks (not to mention getting into kung fu matches with much younger and healthier opponents). The older and more out of shape he gets, the more unbelievable he becomes in an action hero role. Unfortunately, he either doesn't know that, or he doesn't care. All I know is that for the last half dozen movies or so that I've seen of his "work," I've always had this little niggling doubt in the back of my mind that he might just drop dead of a heart attack before the movie is over... I mean seriously, folks, at what point do we become comfortable with an "action hero" resting his folded arms on his belly while he confronts a dialoging bad guy? Tip: if you can comfortably balance your drink and a cell phone on your belly, while standing, you should drop a couple of pounds... or take up professional cooking and open up a terrible, but trendy, restaurant.
All beating up on Mr. Seagal personally aside, let's beat up on him professionally. The movie is crap, and I'm just about convinced that ten years ago Seagal filmed a few hundred unrelated action sequences and has spent the past decade piecing them together into separate movies -- totally adding in "plot" and "dialogue" later (although the writers of both should be forcibly deported). He's always wearing the same outfit, he sometimes has a HORRIBLE accent and sometimes not, and he is constantly doing that awkward big man/small jacket maneuver with his sidearm -- it's hard to explain unless you're watching it. If he wasn't just piecing together old footage, can you explain to me why he's wearing an odd looking leather jacket, prison outfit, and is going for the "ninja" look in every film? (ninja: wearing all black for the final confrontation) Stock footage. HAS to be.
Ok, now that it's out of my system... Look, I'm a guy, so I like a good shoot'em up movie now and then. And, for all their flaws, Seagal delivers that -- and ONLY that. They aren't great movies; hell, they're not good movies, but at least they're consistent. Accordingly, I can forgive the odd supid action film from the guy. But it gets difficult to forgive two dozen stupid action flicks. It would be really nice if he'd just save up for the occasional Under Siege (a GREAT mindless action film), rather than inundating us with a constant barrage of prison/mob/theif/cop films co-starring the latest obscure rapper. It's lame. And at this point, I just can't find a good excuse to keep watching his stupid movies. Do yourself, and perhaps Mr. Seagal, a favor and just skip this one.
