Pretty Good

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

In the vein of full disclosure, I lost interest in this film and didn't finish it, and therefore normally wouldn't bother writing a review about such a nondescript film. However, I was greatly perturbed about the casual drug use of the teenage characters, and the amoral nature of this film . The cynical loose woman angle has been done to death, and the two dimensional characters that comprise the cast are just a regurgitation of characters that one will find in just about every indie film about love. These supposed brilliant writers' views are so shallow and mainstream that I struggled to find them believable as talented writers who question the world. Has the world become so shallow that this is what constitutes deep thinking and meaningful relationships?This film about writers is not a film that true writers will enjoy. It lacks depth, imagination and ingenuity.

I really liked this movie, I watched it many times, once at the theatre then at home. I loved the soundtrack, I loved the mood, and all the characters especially Rusty. I can totally relate with lots that happen. The mother reminds me too much of my mama (she's also Sarah from labyrinth) and the father of my papa too. I wish they spoke English and were able to watch it. Anyways, I loved the fact that Samantha is scared of being in a relationship and cries a river after he makes her listen to Elliot Smith's Between the Bars, that became one of my favorite songs after that. The house by the beach is a freaking dream.More please.

It's a good Jennifer's movie, not among her best but not among her worst too. The story is rather interesting as it's about the hard and unlikely path a family walks to be together again. Jenny is rather good as she plays a fragile and guilty mother who seeks forgiveness. Her children are great too as they are responsible, well-educated ones who are eager to grasp what life can give them. Kinnear is cool as Jenny's husband for a second time and the setting in north Carolina is beautiful. However, it's an American movie with Hollywood stars, so the characters have really nothing to do with common people: all the family except Jenny are writers (!) who have so much talent (!) that even Stephen King can call them! Even if I like hearing about the craft and being myself fan of the Bangor celebrity, I found that this rich and famous angle (almost) ruined the movie. It's boring to watch movies with such impersonal scripts that assimilate successful life with big career!

Somehow this little film caught my attention unassumingly. This lukewarm kind of film is usually likable. I didn't need to drag myself into emotional ambivalence to understand and actually enjoyed it. Sometimes we need light fares to balance our overly stimulated appetites. Marriage used to be sacred and unadulterated not very long ago. As a matter of fact, that kind of concept still pretty much exists in our parent's generation. We now have this carnal desire and emotional attachment separation anxiety to define it. I still incline to treat it as a legal status so we no longer confuse oranges with apples. There is really a blurred line between the physical and spiritual attraction. This movie manifested the disparity among a group of attractive people which is too convenient to persuade audience. The obfuscation might be a better approach.Overall, it had some witty dialogue and also a nicely playing out storyline. It suited my leisure at least.