The Savages

Thursday, May 8, 2008

I have no inherent affection for indie comedy-drama quirk fests. Outside of I Heart Huckabees and Wes Anderson's best movies, there certainly aren't really any I love. And even some of the ones I kinda sorta like a little (Juno, Little Miss Sunshine) I like them despite their style, not because of it.

I was going to rent Margot at the Wedding, which is probably more or less the same movie, because I liked the trailer more. My brother convinced me to get this one, and I love Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, so I agreed.

Actually, The Savages isn't quite the quirkfest I thought it would be, it's more bitter. I guess it's closer to The Squid and the Whale. But not as funny.

That really threw me off, the lack of laughs in this movie. My girlfriend agreed, but said she thought it was more of a drama with a little humor, that it wasn't trying to be a comedy. I don't agree. I think a lot of the movie is supposed to be funny or amusing, it's just not.

I can't fault much in the direction, and the acting is (obviously) strong, but it didn't work for me. At all. The bitter laughs are few and far between (and I love bitter laughs), and I was completely unengaged on a dramatic level. It seemed like everything you need to know about the characters you understand within minutes of meeting them, and then the movie rambles on for another 100 minutes. I'm guessing someone who has a family member with Alzheimer's would find this movie more engaging, but it didn't do much to inspire interest or empathy with me.

And then I really hated the ending, where suddenly it skips ahead 6 months and everyone's lives have turned for the better and they are on the road to self-improvement. So basically they skipped over the entire emotional climax.

I wish I could see this cast in a better movie.