Being Roger Ebert
OUT IN THEATERS
Garden State (Rated: R, 2004)
I went to see this movie not knowing what it’s about. I knew a few things – it received mixed reviews by critics (mostly positive) and it was set in New Jersey. I was glad that I didn’t read or knew about the premise of the movie – which is like one of the themes of this film – walking in to the unknown and taking chances. This film was about stepping outside our comfort zones. It’s about fear. It’s about relationships between people from our past, present, and future. It was about pain … numbing pain. This was about a life that has been "stuck in a rut" but finally awoken by some very special and unique people. This movie reminded me of Beautiful Girls (also with Natalie Portman) – about a writer who came back to his hometown in search of something beautiful and meaningful. Garden State had some of the funniest scenes in recent memory. The humor was packaged in short & subtle moments and occured at times when you least expected them. The performances won’t garner Portman or Braff any Academy award nominations but they worked very well together to create a very memorable film.
Grade: A+
Notes:
- If you liked Garden State, go see: About Schmidt, Beautiful Girls, Dead Poets Society
- Lem’s Review of Garden State – Click Here
RENTAL
Jersey Girl (Rated: PG-13, 2004)
First off, this is not a romantic comedy. And that’s a good thing – we have too much of those already. I enjoyed this film because it was about relationships between a father and daughter, and a father and son. The plot is very simple and it had no twists or turns. It was predictable. But, it also had a good heart and a sense of humor. Yes, Raquel Castro who played little Gertie, was annoyingly cute – she could be the next Dakota Fanning. Yes, there were moments that were too "sappy" for my taste. But, what do you expect from a Ben Affleck movie? Regardless of its faults, it was still a very entertaining and funny movie. Kudos to George Carlin – he added some really funny lines as a convincing Jersey, blue-collar dad/grandad. Also, this is probably Ben Affleck’s best role since he played a good-hearted thug in Good Will Hunting.
Grade: B
Garden State (Rated: R, 2004)
I went to see this movie not knowing what it’s about. I knew a few things – it received mixed reviews by critics (mostly positive) and it was set in New Jersey. I was glad that I didn’t read or knew about the premise of the movie – which is like one of the themes of this film – walking in to the unknown and taking chances. This film was about stepping outside our comfort zones. It’s about fear. It’s about relationships between people from our past, present, and future. It was about pain … numbing pain. This was about a life that has been "stuck in a rut" but finally awoken by some very special and unique people. This movie reminded me of Beautiful Girls (also with Natalie Portman) – about a writer who came back to his hometown in search of something beautiful and meaningful. Garden State had some of the funniest scenes in recent memory. The humor was packaged in short & subtle moments and occured at times when you least expected them. The performances won’t garner Portman or Braff any Academy award nominations but they worked very well together to create a very memorable film.
Grade: A+
Notes:
- If you liked Garden State, go see: About Schmidt, Beautiful Girls, Dead Poets Society
- Lem’s Review of Garden State – Click Here
RENTAL
Jersey Girl (Rated: PG-13, 2004)
First off, this is not a romantic comedy. And that’s a good thing – we have too much of those already. I enjoyed this film because it was about relationships between a father and daughter, and a father and son. The plot is very simple and it had no twists or turns. It was predictable. But, it also had a good heart and a sense of humor. Yes, Raquel Castro who played little Gertie, was annoyingly cute – she could be the next Dakota Fanning. Yes, there were moments that were too "sappy" for my taste. But, what do you expect from a Ben Affleck movie? Regardless of its faults, it was still a very entertaining and funny movie. Kudos to George Carlin – he added some really funny lines as a convincing Jersey, blue-collar dad/grandad. Also, this is probably Ben Affleck’s best role since he played a good-hearted thug in Good Will Hunting.
Grade: B
2 Comments:
Man, I've always wanted to see Jersey Girl. No one in my group of buddies were interested, though. Maybe I'll rent it one day. I'm a fan of Kevin Smith's work. He has a sort of sense of humor that no one else really has.
I think you'll like it. Although a bit "sappy", it was still a pretty funny movie.
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