This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
View MoreIt's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.
View MoreThe story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
View MoreWith those stunning camera shots of Chicago and that snappy Harry Connick, Jr. song in the title sequence, "Kissing A Fool" gets off to a great start. And I liked Bonnie Hunt as the story's narrator. But the film suffers from a plot that is too predictable and from characters whose behavior is not believable.This is one of those movies that you can see the end coming a mile away. There are virtually no plot twists to deflect the story's straight-line trajectory. As such, the story is almost too simple and unimaginative to be worth telling. To varying degrees, most romantic comedies are fairly shallow. But "Kissing A Fool" has no subtlety at all, not in plot, not in characters, not in dialogue.Lacking any complexity, the story relies on two main characters, Jay (Jason Lee) and Max (David Schwimmer) whose behavior toward each other is not believable. They're supposed to be best buddies. But they are constantly at each other's throats. Their constant arguing not only is annoying; it calls into question their friendship. How can they be best buddies?The two are not at all alike. Jay is bookish and cerebral; Max is your typical arrogant, cocky self-centered sports freak jerk. All that animosity between these two guys does not lend credibility to their "friendship"; yet, it is the main contrivance that propels the film's plot. Further, it renders a story conclusion that is, by extension, also not believable.The film's acting is a tad exaggerated. I like Jason Lee, but he tends to overact in this film. Mili Avital, as the girl in between, is okay, but she doesn't have much to do. And David Schwimmer's performance is something of a hyper-masculine strut-fest. Some subtlety in acting would have helped a lot.For all that, "Kissing A Fool" is still worth watching, once. It has credible production values, and there are occasional lines of dialogue that are funny. And I think the film's underlying concept is fine. I just wish the script and the acting could have been a little more nuanced and subtle.
View MoreAltogether the premise of this movie doesn't seem all that exciting, now that I really think about it there is not much to this movie but both myself and my sister have an odd obsession with it.It's funny, granted Jason Lee is always funny but the cast puts out some great performances. Not many people have seen this and the reactions to it are mixed. There are some parts with really great narrative and the story moves along quite fluidly. The characters are over the top and make for a very fun movie (Max, Natasha etc.).By no means one of the great films or anything, but definitely one of my favs for sure.
View MoreI'm usually pretty cynical about love stories. But Kissing a Fool is fabulous. Like previously stated, Bonnie Hunt and Jason Lee are so talented and funny. Jason is completely beleivable in his role and makes everything feel so human. The scenes where he reunites with ex- "Natasha (natasia)" are so perfect and funny. For anyone who has ever been in a complicated relationship, or anyone who has been jilted by a bad romantic comedy before, see this movie. Just rent it on a night when you don't want something heavy. It's pretty good.
View Moreevery character in this film is totally dislikeable, I very rarely agree with Leonard Maltin but this movie is definitely awful. The David Schwimmer character is more likeable than the Jason Lee character but not very much, which doesnt work because Lee is supposedly the "hero" of the story. He's whining, pathetic and annoying. In reality, neither deserves to get the girl.
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