A Disappointing Continuation

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Although this movie starred some of the best actors in Hollywood, Meryl Streep, Ewan McGregor, Benedict Cumberbatch and Julia Roberts, to name just a few, the script was the problem for me. While I can see how this story would be great on stage in a live performance format, as a movie on screen, for me, it's too melodramatic. It seemed almost like a parody of a family drama. The dialogue, performances, and plot-turns aren't surprising or interesting to me and everything escalates in a predictable way. A great example of compelling drama, expertly told, about dysfunctional family dynamics and includes a quirky set of characters is 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape', a movie with extreme circumstances but subtle dialogue, plot progression, and performances.

August Osage County is a terrific film with a very well developed plot and a spectacular cast. It is a rare movie that is not afraid to tell it like it is, showing the complications of family and how tough it can be to keep it together. There really is no feel good factor to it, there are serious themes involved, from the likes of dementia, suicide, divorce, adultery and incest. It manages to tackle them all effectively, showcasing the seriousness of them. I did feel like the film was lacking optimism, there is no light at the end of the tunnel, a few light hearted moments would have been refreshing, showing the closely knitted family without any negativity surrounding them. It also would have given us a more personal insight on their relationship outside of the drama they are facing. The cast is really what brings it all together, there is not a poor performance in the bunch, the likes of Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Ewan McGregor and Margo Martindale are all very believable as a close, dysfunctional family. The dinner scene is groundbreaking film work, an entire sequence, roughly twenty five minutes long, of the family having food together, in which they let out a lot of their inner emotions, it was a risky move by the director but it succeeded. Albeit bleak, August Osage County is an extremely compelling film with spellbinding performances, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good drama. The sudden suicide of a family member prompts an ill tempered family gathering. Best Performance: Julia Roberts

I was looking forward to watching this movie for a long time. It is finally available on Netflix. I must say, I am disappointed. I felt like i was watching nearly 2.5 hours of screaming and a Meryl Streep trying way too hard to portray a junkie. Plus, it really look like both Mrs. Streep and Roberts were battling for screen time. Benedict Cumberbach should not accept roles that require him to take on a different accent. His accent is too strong. I did love Juliette Lewis' character. She is an underrated actress in Hollywood, in my opinion. The story, however, was hard to follow. I am sure the play is better and more insightful.

Three generations of a very estranged family gather together for the patriarch's funeral, which if I were a member of, would probably skip without apologies or an explanation. Don't let the surface friendliness of the characters in this clan fool you. They are all completely nuts.Matriarch Meryl Street makes Violet's Voice, which is basically pill addiction, and only mourning her husband for a minute before going on the attack. She's basically run daughter Julia Roberts off (by Robert's obvious choice), and it is ultra difficult for Roberts to return. The funeral is followed by a memorial dinner that makes a visit with George and Martha a day at the beach. The always powerful Streep adds another classic portrayal to her dozens of magnificent roles. Violet is a woman filled with anger and bitterness towards her three children, and it's obviously isn't grief talking. Secrets are revealed, old hurts are raised, yet biscuits with gravy are consumed without one being thrown.Among the others in this amazing ensemble are Margo Martindale as Streep's loyal but sometimes bluntly obnoxious sister, Chuck Cooper as her quietly suffering husband, and Juliette Lewis as the wild, party girl baby in the family. All eyes are on Streep however, as it was for me on Broadway when I saw Estelle Parsons in the role. Smartly edited by over an hour, this may not have been as fast moving as the play was. Tracy Letts wrote the best drama we've seen on stage in decades, and as my tagline says, Outstanding theater may make you weep. The movie may not have had the same effect, but I never was bored, that's for sure.