| Overall Grade: |
B+ |
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| Story: |
A |
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| Acting: |
B+ |
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| Direction: |
B+ |
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| Visuals: |
B |
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Not a Will Ferrell Comedy-its better than that
by luigidk (movies profile)
Mar 8, 2008
148
of
163 people found this review helpful
This is not your standard Will Ferrell comedy - the promotions as such are doing it a huge disservice.
Much of the audience kept trying to force laughs out of warm situations that were pleasantly humorous - but not meant to be silly laugh out loud funny.
In the end, it is much better than that. The story is quirky but strong. The characters are so well developed that you enjoy living with them for an hour or so.
The acting is generally good. Though Will Ferrell does a fine job but the expectations his persona bring probably hurts the movie - and unfairly so. It is just difficult to watch him and not wait for the other shoe to drop. As good as he is - the movie would probably be better if someone with a more serious reputation had been in that role. Tom Hanks would have made this a top-top movie.
Emma Thompson is superb. Though her realism may be a little out of place - it still brings credibility to holding everything together.
Queen Latifah is superfluous - she's ok but has no real purpose - and acts that way.
Dustin Hoffman seems to enjoy being the same quirky guy in everything - hard to differentiate him from I-heart-Huckabees or any number of odd characters he's been playing recently. He's entertaining - but interchangeable. His character is not explained very well but plays a key role as Will Ferrell's 'counselor'.
Maggie Gyllenhaal is radiant - she is highly watchable and warms every seen she is in. Though we're never sure why she's attracted to Will Ferrell's character.
This is much better than promoted - much warmer, much deeper and much finer way to spend your evening. |
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