Tuesday, April 7, 2009

WIFF - Momma's Man

This movie was a lot like “Treeless Mountain” in that It was really sensitively told, well-acted, quiet and ambiguous, and pretty boring.  I was pretty surprised later to find all the good reviews for it, though the few negative ones echoed what I felt.  I later learned as well that the director cast his real parents to be in the film, and that his father is a famous avant-gard filmmaker (surely something interesting to critics) so I felt like some of the praise for this movie was undeserved.  The film follows a 30-something man who returns home to NY and finds it difficult to leave.  Back home waiting for him in LA is a newborn baby, a frazzled wife, and some business problems.  The man strolls down memory lane, reading old journals, singing old songs he wrote in high school and playing with old toys.  As seen in other “indie” movies, this one was overly ambiguous as you didn’t really know the specifics of what type of business he was doing in NY in the first place and what specifically, his problems are back in LA.  It’s also clear that he’s going back to LA so I was just impatiently waiting for him to work his shit out and then leave.  The climax is somewhat unbelievable and not convincing for me.  It really came down to the main actor who was slovenly and lazy and though realistic, I didn’t pull for him at all.  He kind of made the bed he was sleeping in so it was hard for me to empathize.  Two out of five stars.

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