ErsiK
Posts: 3
Joined: 12/8/2010
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Somehow the concept of the depressed and uninspired writer will never cease to be exploited in films. The artist that has given up on the most simple pleasures in life or just can't seem to want to face them with a smile and instead goes through life not knowing what to do with himself is a favorite amongt scriptwriters.
Jeff Daniels does not bring a new twist to his character (Richard Dunn) but he does express confusion and boredom very well and manages to make his character likable and unlikable at the same time. However, his greatest achievement in the role is the way he makes his character so natural, so accessible, to make plausible his relationship with Abby (Emma Stone), the troubled teen he bonds with in an attempt to feel less lonely and experience a little slice of fatherhood he craves so much. Both actors work fantastically together but the triangle is not complete without the wife, Lisa Kudrow, who is the reality to Richard's dellusions in every aspect of their lives and he is very aware of that (he is constantly calling her 'the doctor'). She serves as the anti-hero for a while till her relationship with Daniels is restored and reality sets in on both of them. The real cherry on the cake in this charming film are both Ryan Reynolds and Kieran Kulkin, playing the imaginary friends of Richard and Abby respectively. Reynolds, in tights and Superman colors and bleached hair, appears only in flashes attempting to install some reason in Richard's mind while Kulkin's character is more complex and ultimately more perplexing as to his role in Abby's life.
This film is so light hearted it is hard to realize if it wanted to install any particular messages, apart from 'you should all appreciate life and the people around you' or if it just wanted to exist in the world like Richard Dunn. However, like any indie film of this kind it does leave you with a fuzzy feeling in your stomach and a desire to see more of Jeff Daniels in these sort of films.
< Message edited by ErsiK -- 21/1/2011 3:11:44 PM >
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