Once you get through the first half-hour of this film, you've seen essentially all you need to see, plot-wise: four friends, three of whom have money, and all of whom are "stuck" in some way. Thank goodness for Frances McDormand, whose superb acting makes this movie watchable long after the scenes start repeating themselves. Catherine Keener and Joan Cusack are also very good to watch, even if their roles do not allow for much development. Jennifer Anniston's role and her ability to carry the part are both severely flawed: Anniston brings absolutely no personality to the part, and the part itself doesn't ever really develop. For this movie, it's a fatal predicament, since Anniston's role is the central one.
Reviews
2 Reviews
nice try, but....
18 July 2005
I respect that Miranda July is trying to portray human vulnerability and the need for connection and love, qualities that are often difficult to portray cinematic ally. But the film's story line is very thin and the characters themselves are, well, loopy and underdeveloped. The subplots involving sex play and instant messaging try to poke fun at our failed attempts to connect, but they are neither very well-developed nor very believable. Everyone seems like a cardboard cut-out of themselves in the film, and no one really ever "develops" beyond the sketchy outline that the film provides. I was hoping that the film would live up to its billing, but alas, this one did not. Disappointing.
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