Good start, but then it gets ruined

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

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

Ron Rocket (Tom Arnold) has a stroke during his weekly golf game. His son Christopher Rocket (Jimmy Fallon) is estranged and living in NYC with his girlfriend Anne (Lucy Liu). He goes home to Arcade, Florida where they have the big house in the small town. He reconnects with womanizing friend Nickie Apple (Tony Hale) and old crush Kim Temple (Jordana Spiro). In flashbacks, his flighty mother Jane (Sharon Stone) asks Ron to make that "The Year of Getting to Know Us". Christine Jacobson (Illeana Douglas) is their neighbor.Jimmy Fallon is trying dramatic acting. It's limited. The directions are also limited. The writing needs some interest. Hale is interesting but in general, the modern time is a drag. The flashbacks could be a compelling coming-of-age story for the young Chris. I rather cut out the entire present day story and do only the past. I suggest this fully understanding that Tom Arnold is a big part of that part of the story. He would probably be better in dramatic acting than Jimmy Fallon.

This is such a funny and charming movie about families and how we all become just like our parents - I had no idea Jimmy Fallon was such a good actor. Sharon Stone is also great and shows that she can really act, which is sometimes lost in the big movies she does. I also love Ileanna Douglas in everything and this is no exception. Like Jimmy Fallon, Tom Arnold also plays a serious role and is able to hold his own with Sharon Stone. The Year of Getting to Know Us reminded me of Garden State but is a little more weird - in a good way. I'm not sure when this movie is going to be released in the UK, but I hope it's soon. It deserves to be seen.

I saw this movie at Sundance and thought it was totally compelling (particularly Sharon Stone as the unhinged mom) and found many scenes profoundly reminded me of my own dysfunctional family. I caught myself laughing out loud a number of times, especially at Tony Hale - you know, buster from Arrested Development. I did find, however, the film seemed a little long and somehow unfinished - like a couple of other movies I saw at the festival which, I assume, is quite common. Imagine my surprise, when I recently heard from a friend that the movie had been shortened by the director and he was having a small screening of the new version. Wow - I thought this movie was good the first time I saw it, so I couldn't believe how much better it was the second time. Jimmy Fallon and Lucy Liu are fantastic together and the whole movie is smart, funny, moving and totally satisfying. I hope I can see it for a third time in theaters. You should see it too! LM

I saw the world premiere of this film at Sundance and it is seriously one of the five worst films I have seen in my lifetime. During the Q&A (in which the director and entire cast were present), no one in the audience had anything worth saying because the film was so awful. It was a pretty awkward moment.Considering all of the 10s this film has received, it seems to me that people connected with the film are clearly the ones giving it a rating without considering the quality of the final product. If you honestly think this is a good film, you have no taste when it comes to film-making.Jimmy Fallon is painfully one dimensional. Lucy Liu is good, but her role has no meat-- it's sad that these are the only parts she is given. Tom Arnold is not an actor and never has been. Sharon Stone is caricaturish. Illeana Douglas and Tony Hale give the best performances, but in minor roles. What most people don't know about this film is that the director cuts back and forth between the present and the past at least twenty times-- an overused technique that not even the most mundane film students resort to these days. This forces Arnold and Stone, who play Fallon's parents, to carry a major portion of the film in the flashbacks.There is rarely a truthful moment in the film. The script is contrived. The cliché ending can be seen in any below-average Hollywood romantic comedy. I hope this director grows in maturity before he writes or directs another film. He had the budget and resources at his fingertips, but blew his opportunity because he wasn't properly equipped.Which Sundance programmer allowed this film to be shown? They should be ashamed of themselves. The work speaks for itself and it clearly falls short. I'd hate to think that the programmer was being wooed by the producer's rep or other people behind the film without considering the ramifications of screening something of this quality at Sundance. Is this what Redford's vision has come to?