Truly Dreadful Film

Captivating movie !

As Good As It Gets

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

I thought this movie was a tad on the pretentious side. It seemed like Ethan Hawke was trying WAAAAY too hard to make a like, super-cool, deep and arty indie film. On the plus side, I thought Uma and Vincent were both great. If only the whole movie had been just about their relationship! Not to mention that Vincent looked mad not with the nearly-shaved head and goatee. Tasty! Some of the outdoor shots of the Chelsea were really beautiful too, especially the ones at the end of the film in which it's snowing. The Chelsea Hotel has always been one of my favorite NYC landmarks, and I'm sure Ethan meant the film to be a loving homage to this artist's haven and its inhabitants, but I don't know... something got lost along the way.

I connect with what this thing is supposed to be, but the substance of these artists is poor. Nothing we see from them rises above the level of teenage poetry. The Chelsea Hotel is still a mecca for poets and artists, even if today it's more a mecca for kids of Kerouac. This movie shows the Chelsea as a mecca for 21st century sulking hipsters who learned hippy-dom from Woodstock DVDs. I don't think that's accurate. If you take away the artist premise and the reputation of the Chelsea as a setting, and replace it with a college dorm full of political science majors, you'd have an equally fascinating film.But I find the building, the inside of that building, to be beautiful.

I don't know why most people don't like this movie, especially if your a connoisseur of the cinema. I admit I am not a big fan of Kris Kristofferson, but aside from him I thought it was a well done movie. It was a bit hard to understand what was going on sometimes, but I think that might have been Ethan Hawke's intention. Any how, if you like indy films, and don't mind being confused, I think this movies worth watching. There were just certain moments in the film when the natural beauty was almost overwhelming it was so powerful. I think Ethan Hawke is on his way.

I'm generally patient with movies and will watch almost anything. My trick to get through dull stuff like this is watch 10-15 minutes at a time, take a break and come back to see if either my mood or the movie has "improved". Now I have sat down twice over a period of several months and tried to watch this thing, but gave up after about 45 minutes and fast-forwarded through it. Awesome cast, total disappointment.