Very best movie i ever watch

Touches You

Simply Perfect

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

What a waste of time. Do not watch this movie if you have watched Seinfeld or Curb Your Enthusiasm. You have already seen it. It is full of the same jokes, the same sight gags and the same comedic premises. It was a waste of two hours. Larry David is a very funny man but he obviously ran out of material a long time ago. He is rehashing old ideas, familiar scenes and retelling old jokes. You can tell he directed it very early on when both main characters act in exactly the same manner as George in Seinfeld or Larry himself would in Curb Your Enthusiasm. You can almost picture him telling the actors this is how I want you to play this scene. The auntie is also just a rehash of every Jewish mother in all his works. It is the same character, and a racial stereo type as well. The way he uses black characters is nothing short of racist, but we already knew this from Season 1 Episode 9 of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and before that ten years of Seinfeld. In short it is full of misunderstandings, slight misses of important phone calls and gross over reactions to minor irritants. When the elevator scene came around late in the movie, I couldn't take it any more. How many times have we seen the exact same scene? Utter rubbish!

Sour Grapes has a certain appeal for Larry David fans like myself, but ultimately, it's too long and overdone. This is a perfect example of eclectic humor where for every one person who finds a certain event funny there are ten people who are appalled or left scratching their head.This isn't bad, and it serves as a precursor to writer and director Larry David's new hit show Curb Your Enthusiasm, currently finished with its eight season. The show began in 1999, and Sour Grapes was completed and released in 1998. It bares a striking resemblance in some cases, and the way some scenes end with an awkward conversation or a random event occurring now seem like it was hinting at what Larry David would find success with later in his career. It's an interesting little setup, but not executed well enough.What makes Curb Your Enthusiasm work so well? I think it's the character of Larry and his bizarre situations, the highly relatable quality of him that many people find in themselves, and the fact that the character himself is so open with discussing random, off the wall situations. It's a unique and daring show that should be lucky it clicks so well with audiences. But it's not everyone's humor, and neither is Sour Grapes. Maybe if Larry David waited a little while longer, worked on Curb for a few seasons, and made a made a bigger name for himself this film would've been more understood and a bit more of a success. Sadly, we'll have to give it the time period it was conducted in.The story follows around two cousins named Evan and Ritchie (Weber and Bierko). Both of them and their spouses go to Atlantic City for the weekend. The men decide to play the slots. Ritchie asks to borrow two quarters after Evan told him to be eligible to win the jackpot you must put in at least three quarters. Ritchie does and boom, wins the jackpot of $436,214.50. How did I remember that? Because you'll hear that number more times in this film than any other number regardless of amount or digits in any film probably in your life.Evan believes he is entitled to at least half of Ritchie's earnings, but Ritchie believes he only owes Evan the two quarters and nothing more. As you would imagine, the money comes between the two cousins and they bicker like little kids. I admire the film for at least setting up a plausible quibble that will likely have a typical person siding with one of the main characters. Personally, I'm middle of the road having sympathy with Evan believing he entitled to a small portion of the money since he contributed to the win. No more than maybe a fourth of the money should be given to him, but after all, it truly is the gesture that counts.Trying to settle ends, Evan buys Ritchie a jogging suit for his birthday. Ritchie gives the jogging suit to a bum. Evan sees that the weasel gave the jogging suit away on his ride home. So to get even, when Ritchie goes home after a visit from the doctor, Evan. Evan calls him up and says that he has a rare form of Cancer with only a few months to live. Ritchie, who lives with his mom, worries that his mom won't be able to go on without him and thus sets up a plan for the bum to kill his mother.Alas, his plan backfires, and now his mother is in the hospital and he is informed that the Cancer call was just a joke. Now both of the men are in hot water and we are supposed to laugh at both of their miseries. I took longer to explain the plot than I usually do, since I believe a review should be more about the thoughts of the person writing rather than solely the plot of the story. But when it comes to Larry David, in order to explain the film, you have to explain almost the whole thing while dodging spoilers. If I'm trying to mention a funny part in Curb to someone, I have to literally tell them the whole episode's synopsis in order for them to effectively get the joke. It's because much of the humor happens because it was the result of a trigger effect caused by the characters. It's a fun and unique way of humor.This all feels like a dull pilot for a sitcom destined to have half a first season, and since David was also working with Jerry Seinfeld on Seinfeld at the time of this, this could've been a rejected episode idea David wanted to pursue. However, the conflict could've been resulted if the characters had an honest talk with one another instead of acting merely on impulse and present emotions.The funniest scenes exist not with Weber and Bierko, but with the group of bums who have numerous and far too quick lines of dialog. Some of the funniest characters are severely underwritten in a Larry David picture? No way.Sour Grapes is cute, but not very well done. It occupies way too much time and leaves way too little accomplished. It becomes not a comedy, but a very long setup that grows weary when blown out of proportion. The two leads are cute, but not memorable. The script isn't sour, but far from sweet. And the directing is of second rate quality. Larry David is a writing wizard, and it is shown here. But he works better when he has a strict time limit, like with his two successful sitcoms, rather than a free range film that isn't time sensitive. It's a curious piece of history for a man so colorful, but brings little to light other than David's writing abilities and his surefire way to create a successful trigger effect in his stories.

Sour Grapes. The movie I wanted to love. Damn. Larry David's first directorial debut was a film I was entirely amped up to see. Being a huge fan of Seinfeld and Curb, like most of you, this is a must see film. But unfortunately it didn't even come close to meeting my expectations.The flick revolves around two cousins, where one wins the jackpot on a slot machine from two of the other cousins quarters. The winning cousin doesn't see that he should share any money with his money-sharing cousin. What follows is lots of bickering, and silly situations.So, the plot is pretty on par with a Curb episode. But this is where the problem and solution arises. Only Larry David himself can bring his own Curb-type humor to fruition. The two leads were good, they brought their own style, but the writing is so incredibly Larry David, it's all you compare them to. It's so damn obvious Larry should have played the winning cousin. But nevertheless, he didn't and the film suffered by it. Larry did make an appearance as a t.v. big wig, and like always stole the scene.It's weird, I didn't hate the movie, but I didn't really like it either. Nothing truly funny, though there were a few giggles here and there. But the story was predictable, the actors didn't fit their roles and there wasn't enough L.D. Though I'll still say this is a must-see for all Larry David fans. The writing and humor is there, but it just goes to show, casting is incredibly important. No wonder Larry started his own show and made himself the lead. Genius.

You could almost call "Sour Grapes", "Seinfeld: The Movie". A lot of the rhythm is like the show expanded (and with profanity) to 90 minutes. The plot is sitcom-ville but it's workable and serves as a good setup. Two cousins, Evan (Steve Weber) and Richie (Criag Bierko) travel to Atlantic City. When Richie runs out of money for a gambling machine and asks Evan for two quarters, Richie ends up winning a jackpot. Evan feels he's entitled to half of the loot but Richie feels differently. From there the plot escalates as each enacts some kind of revenge and relates his feelings to his friends, co-workers and family with sides being taken and a lot of very expressive opinions being made by all. Now, some of the banter works quite well. For example, there's a well done scene where Evan (who's a doctor of some sort) doesn't want to see any patients (for reasons that are too complex to go into but suffice to say it involves the removal of some vital male structures). He asks his receptionist to tell all the patients waiting to go. She asks him should she tell them individually or as a group? The exchange is pure, classic Larry David and it's played with such understatement that it's a joy. Another bit later on involves Larry David himself (in a toupee!!) playing a brash `Hollywood' type who somehow gets into how Eskimos would handle punishment. But as the plot escalates into more and more bizarre situations and setups, the film becomes strained and the comedy suffers. As Director and Writer, Larry David weaves so many characters and plot elements into the mix that he seems desperate to come up with an ending that will pull all the strings together in a satisfying way. Like many of even the best of the `Seinfeld' episodes, he simply ends the movie with a drab almost eventless ending that feels like a cheat. With all that came before it, we feel that we deserve some kind of big ending. Though it's not a great movie, Stanley Kramer's `It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World' had a `big' ending that felt exactly right in contrast to all the "madcap" elements that came before it no matter how forced and unfunny. Maybe David felt he was being revolutionary or something in not giving into the basic comedic instinct for this kind of ending. But we're talking about low comedy not high art.The performances are fine. Steven Weber is a good comedic actor. His yuppie handsomeness is perfect for David's lines and he underplays certain scenes wonderfully. You can see his shock registering every times something goes wrong and he wonders how he got into all of this. Craig Bierko overplays a lot of his scenes by mugging but given the nature of his character (he's basically selfish and obnoxious) it's consistent and he never lets up on it. One thing you cannot fault David is his casting of African-Americans and older actors even if they are all supporting roles. And he gives them lines and situations that have comedic punch. Overall, `Sour Grapes' is watchable, passable, entertainment. Not a great movie comedy but it certainly has it's moments.