I Regarded This Movie As Something...
I'm still determining. This is going to have to be one of those reviews in which I predict which kind of movie watchers will enjoy this particular movie. I myself didn't hate it. Didn't love it. Didn't like it or dislike it. I'm completely and utterly on the fence and the only helpful thing I can do for you is to assist you in making an educated decision on the merit of it's rental by providing you with the facts. They are this:
Jeff Daniels plays Richard Dunne, a writer. A writer who's first book failed miserably and his second book can't even hold his own interest long enough to finish the first line. Then along comes Abby (Emma Stone). A local Long Island teenager with a set of her own problems. This unlikely friendship begins to blossom while Richard struggles to find his story, voice and somewhere else to put the hideous couch other than the sitting room. All the while, Richard's imaginary friend, Captain Excellent (Ryan Reynolds) frowns upon the relationship and tries to help him with words of superhero wisdom, "When the world is imperiled, when evil surrounds you, when danger is lurking...who do you call?"
Despite the strange premise and Ryan Reynolds dressed up in a superhero suit and blonde hair, this movie is not a comedy. It's a drama about a man and a teenage girl who are both sort of lost and somehow find a way to grow up and move on. It was slow but thoughtful and sort of sweet (once you got over the teenage girl and grown man being friends thing...or if you ever did). If you're into looking on the 'deeper' side of movies and like something that's a little 'off' and like movie descriptions with lots of 'quotations' then you ought to give this one a view.
*Spoiler Alert* There is one scene in this movie that absolutely made the entire movie worth it to me: Captain Excellent has a conversation with a fellow imaginary friend as they watch their imaginers completely disregard the advice they have given them. They compare notes on the occupations of imaginary friends and Captain Excellent provides the younger friend with words of wisdom only an imaginary friend can give to another imaginary friend. It's the best scene of the whole movie and probably worth watching just for those few moments of peculiar awesomeness.
Motherly Advice: With filters set to medium this movie still had some scenes of teen partying and alcohol consumption. There is a lot of language ClearPlayed here for us (I'm seeing a pattern here with filthy language and Emma Stone). The filtering in this is really quite tidy but the major theme here that would make me uncomfortable with teens is the relationship between the young Abby and the grown Richard, which I guess is the major point of the movie. They spend one night together sleeping on the couch and even though they really were sleeping, it may still make you uncomfortable. I'd recommend this filtered movie for mature teens and older.
So the bottom line is, if you're in the mood for and enjoy an occasional slow, deep and subtly humorous film then go for it! And please let me and other readers know what you thought of it so everyone else can make an even more educated decision on this rental.
Danielle'- "Saints alive, Richard! These competing patterns! What fool would combine these fabrics?"
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