I had a pretty productive weekend of movie-going. Between seeing District 9 and The Time Traveler’s Wife on Friday, I thought I was rounding things out nicely by seeing The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard on Sunday afternoon.
How wrong I was.
I think I must have been suckered in by the idea that Jeremy Piven was going to deliver something similar to the lovable cad he placed in PCU, but that didn’t really happen. It’s not really Piven’s fault. He slathers on the oily charm and is relatively winning in his performance.
And it’s not as if The Goods isn’t a funny movie. There are some genuinely inspired bits in the movie.
I think the problem is that The Goods is basically 20 good jokes looking for a plot. The conflict is contrived, the potential girlfriend is cliched… There just isn’t any connective tissue to this thing. It basically barrels through it’s running time trying to shock and offend you into laughter enough times that you won’t notice how lazy all of it is.
And it’s a shame, because there is some amazing comedic talent in this movie – Piven, Tony Hale, Will Ferrell, David Koechner, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong, Kathryn Hahn, Rob Riggle, Craig Robinson… the list goes on. I feel like everyone pretty much did their best with what they were given. But much like the lead character, the movie itself is kind of a con.
As for the other films I saw this weekend, I really liked The Time Traveler’s Wife, but I am convinced the Rachel McAdams is on a mission to make everyone in America cry by 2013. Between this movie and The Notebook, if you don’t tear up even a little… you’re soul dead.
In regard to the time travel elements of the story, Owen Gleiberman at Entertainment Weekly compares the movie to a game that the audience learns to play and it takes a little while to get the hang of it. But the story asks some interesting questions about free will and the forces of attraction.
Cami read the book and complained that the left a lot of details out, but admitted it was a long book and not all of it would have worked in the context of a film.
I was unfamiliar with the source material, but found the movie to be highly resonant and enjoyable. Both of us admitted to thinking about the movie days after we had seen it, despite some of the problems it may have had.
Lastly, District 9. What else can I say about this movie but “wow?”
If you’ve been interested in this film at all, you’ve probably read some of the reviews. A lot of people have been reacting very positively. But I would say that it’s in danger of being oversold just a little bit.
That’s not to say that the movie isn’t effective. Quite the contrary. It’s a very solid sci-fi / action movie. But so many critics have been calling it a masterpiece, I think they’ve lost a little perspective.
The first act is phenomenal. Shot in a documentary style, director Neill Blomkamp goes to great lengths to establish a believable alternate reality where extraterrestrial refugees parked their mother ship over Johannesburg, South Africa 20 years ago.
The aliens, rounded up inside a shanty town called District 9, makes obvious allusions to apartheid. When crime runs rampant in the slums, the general populace has had enough and a large corporation begins to round them up so they can move them to a tent city 200 miles out of town.
That’s where the political stuff ends. I won’t spoil what happens next, but a lot of it is action movie boilerplate. Chases, explosions, violence, gore, heroic platitudes. The whole ball of wax.
There’s some very interesting (and disturbing) Cronenberg-level “betrayal of the body” stuff going on in between the first and second act that I had a hard time stomaching. But the effects work is amazing and the CGI is nearly seamless.
I’m trying not to downplay my review. I strongly encourage all of you to see the movie. I just want you to know what you’re getting into so you don’t get your hopes too high.
District 9 is an expert film. Tightly wound and brilliantly told. Once the action kicks up, hold on to your seat – because you’re going for a ride.
But the trailers and the first act sells lofty concepts about man’s inhumanity to man (and aliens) and what ethic boundaries we will overlook in the pursuit of power and money. Just don’t expect these kind of quandaries throughout, and you’ll be fine. In fact, you’ll be better than fine. You’ll really enjoy yourself.
SIDEBAR: Tonight’s episode of The Triple Feature I think will be really good. I know between the three of us, we were all kind of surprised by the quality and diversity of films showing up in August this year. Normally August means back-to-school and that means you’re not treated as well at the multiplex as the studios try to shuffle off inferior product. But so far, I’d say things are shaping up nicely. So we should have a lot to talk about tonight at 9:00 PM CST.
Be there to listen to it live! We’ll see you then!
Look - I know I've done some pretty insensitive things since we've been together, but I never meant to hurt you.
Please, Cami. Take me back.
I am SO sorry I made you go to The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard with me!
Apology accepted. But you're on thin ice!
DISTRICT 9 is a fantastic film. The only drawback is that it shares the same cinematic traits as THE DEER HUNTER, APOCALYPSE NOW, and SCHINDLER’S LIST. All three films are amazing and compelling pieces of cinema you may not want to see with any regularity because of their dour nature.
If you’d like to get the bad taste out of your mouth after seeing “The Goods”, then I’d like to suggest the movie “Used Cars” that starred Jack Warden and Kurt Russell. Now that was a good movie!
Scott… I don’t know if District 9 is as dour as The Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now or Schindler’s List. Certainly there is a claustrophobic feeling in the slums and amid the squallor that I don’t want to revisit. But, actually, when the action really kicks up, the movie becomes a different experience. In that respect, it was smart of them not to push the apartheid parable too far. I think if all of it was political or set inside the slums, it would be as dour as you describe. But, c’mon. Mecha!
Marcus… I’ve seen Used Cars and it’s excellent. I was going to mention it in my review, but forgot. That’s the problem with The Goods – You’d think using a rarefied subject matter like used car salesmen, they could do more with it. But all the jokes in this movie could really be used in any outlandish comedy.
SPOILER ALERT DISTRICT 9!!!
I really liked the movie… but I can’t get past this one plot point. When the ‘control’ ship first takes off, they shoot it down with the missile launcher. Why when it ascended the second time didn’t they try to shoot it down again?
Please comment.
Anubis….been waiting a long-ass time for this movie and paid extra for the premiere screen…..woe betide you if that is a major plot development…..
In other news- has anyone seen Orphan? I figure it would make the basis of a good comic Tom, with a character actually turning out to be a lot older than they appear- perhaps Jared?
Try as I might, I really can’t find anything wrong with D9. Mixing the more political themes in the beginning with the chase and fight for survival at the end worked, and just because it got more explody towards the end is hardly any reason to mark against it. Of course, I’ve become a straight-up fanboy for that movie since Thursday night, so any perspective I have has long since vacated the premises.
And from what I’ve been hearing, it seems like a good thing that I skipped out on The Goods.
Anubis, to answer your question (with probable spoilers): the guy who ordered the strike the first time was a little busy at the time. Plus, since it was the larger ship doing all the work, hitting it with another missile probably wouldn’t have stopped it.
WOW! I can’t remember the last time I went to watch a movie twice in theaters, but I may just do that with District 9. The last time I came out as impressed about a movie as this one was probably the first Matrix, what 10 years ago now? Incredible, just incredible. That whole 2nd act was totally unexpected and it just made perfect sense. Wikus’ growth throughout the movie was great. With a budget of $30M, it puts everything else that came out this summer to shame. As I said, WOW!
I saw District 9 this past weekend and, honestly, wasn’t that impressed. The storyline was fairly predictable, the ‘social commentary’ seemed a bit heavy handed and the lead character wasn’t particularly sympathetic. It didn’t help any that the ending felt like a setup for a sequel. On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give it a five; its a good movie, probably worth paying full price for, but I have no desire to see it again.
I’m confused. The story was predictable – so I’m assuming you had a problem with the action elements – and the social commentary was heavy handed.
First, how can the social commentary be heavy handed when that kind of social injustice happens every day and second, what kind of movie were you expecting?
I don’t think the hero was supposed to be sympathetic. He was a bureaucrat and a racist (he used the derogatory slur “prawns” repeatedly). But he was a regular guy caught in an extraordinary situation and that’s where the conflict and interest is drawn from.
I’ll agree that the ending was really, really obvious. But I thought everything leading up to it was very well-crafted and executed.
loved d9 best movie of the year for me. im kinda down with all the negative feedback on the goods. o well ill wait till blu ray.
i hope whoever the company is that is responsible for the mecha effects get to work on the metal gear solid movie or neon genesis movie. if either of those ever get made. if they do then holy crap i cant wait
what do u think tom? or are you familiar with either of those franchises?
That the main guy wasn’t sympathetic was one of the best parts of the movie. He’s terrible at the beginning, then he becomes the ‘good’ guy in the middle for selfish reason (not because he feels bad for the tortured aliens) and by the end, he really becomes a good guy and sacrifices himself to let Christopher go and get help. I’m not sure I remember a character arc this well done in a movie. This is one of the most complete movies I’ve seen in a long time. I can’t recommend it enough to everyone! And to those who didn’t like it, you just have to be different, don’t you? 😉