I don't often watch Oscar-nominated movies, but when I do, they're usually a lot better than I expected. This is not one of those movies, sadly. This is one of those movies that starts out great, but then slowly becomes very un-enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, it's a great quality movie, but I personally didn't enjoy it. Plot-wise the premise isn't all too inventive; it's the average road trip movie, but the actors make up for it. Speaking of the cast, I thought that the cast was great, Steve Carell in particular. I don't know why, but I'm a sucker for comedic actors in serious roles. But while Steve did an excellent job, I couldn't help but feel that he kinda out of place the whole time. There was just something about him that made him stick out like a sore thumb in comparison to the rest of the cast.
The main problem I had with the movie, though, was that the movie got incredibly hokey towards the end. The rest of the film is really serious and is more of a dramedy, but the script takes a much more comedic turn after their grandfather dies. After that point, the movie sort of detaches itself from the serious and grounded tone of the film, and goes for more of the generic "wacky hi-jinks" found in road trip movies. And strangely enough, it's around that point that all the characters start to speak in almost nothing but deep and meaningful dialog. I don't mind the occasional bit of thought-provoking dialog, but the characters speak like that so much loses its meaning and becomes empty and annoying.
Overall, it's not that enjoyable a movie, but it's still a well-made one. I wouldn't recommend it, but if you're into Oscar-nominated/winning movies, than it's worth a watch.
Enjoyment: 3/5
Quality: 4/5
IMDB Page- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0449059/
January 8, 2012
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