Sadly Over-hyped
Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??
Did you people see the same film I saw?
It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.
A pleasant surprise that had some unexpected developments and interesting characters.
View MoreNaive small town girl Alberta (Leelee Sobieski) loses an envelop full of money. She runs from thugs escaping on a bus going to big city Vancouver. She reconnects with her old babysitter Celene (Tricia Helfer) who reluctantly lets her stay. She's surprised that Celene is now working from home as a dominatrix. She spills on Celene's expensive outfit. With no money from her grocery store job, she tries to pay Celene back by taking on Paul (Jacob Tierney) who applied to be Celene's client. Rene (Lothaire Bluteau) barges in with brothers Aaron and Isaac looking to retrieve his money from Paul. Alberta is over her head.This is an odd quirky Canadian indie that should be funnier that it is. Sobieski is playing clueless but it's oddly unreal. It would be funnier to be broader. She may not be good enough as a comedic actress but she has never looked hotter. Her boobs look great and her pretend dominatrix dancing is sexy fun. At least, the music is fun. Helfer has a dry wit. There are a few good smirk-worthy moments which keeps this on track.
View MoreThis is the kind of film you could watch if you were sick in bed with the flu and there was nothing else on TV. Beyond that, consider lowing your expectations.I remember when Leelee Sobieski and Natalie Portman were considered rivals in the media for being precocious up-and-coming teenage actresses. Both girls have grown up, and Hollywood has done them no favours. Ms. Portman will have to work very, very hard to overcome Queen Amidala, and Ms. Sobieski has gone from the supernova superwierd vixen in Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut" to, well, this film.That's not to say she doesn't have appeal, at least to some folks. In this show, however, talent is wasted, ability is squandered, and the audience is assumed to be sick in bed with the flu. I would compare this film to "Bon Cop, Bad Cop", another Canadian production that took actors with chops and turned them into chopped liver.Put another way, I think if you laughed uproariously at the humour in "Bon Cop, Bad Cop", and you never figured out that "Harry Buttman" in that film was a parody of a real person, then you will love "Walk All Over Me". I didn't think "Bon Cop, Bad Cop" was funny at all, nor entertaining, but it was "Heat" combined with "Ghostbusters" compared to this turkey.Screwball comedies work because the humour arises from the peculiar logic of the situation. "Walk All Over Me" has precious little logic, just a long list of cliché peculiarities that fail to amuse or arouse.
View MoreI had the privilege to attend the cast+crew screening of this -- no, I'm neither; just the luck of blundering into the right cineplex. I've just now rented and watched it again: it's definitely as good and sharp as I remembered it. With that in mind ...I agree with the previous reviewer (gylgamesh): well acted, cleverly written, and charming. Every character has something surprising to reveal; and the humour is at once subtle and laugh-out-loud funny. The food court scene alone was priceless.Other postings here about Leelee Sobieski's acting puzzle me: in an early scene, Leelee Sobieski gives a tremendous nonverbal expression of everything fighting inside her. Throughout the film, she shows you someone you know you've met before, who's not that bright, but thinks they're smarter than they are... and perhaps they're not all wrong about that, either.Tricia Helfer is full of surprises here; if you've seen her in "Battlestar Galactica", you can probably imagine how she might carry off the role of dominatrix, but there's more to her role than that. The most surprising thing I found was seeing what shoulder muscles she has. No spoiler, but from the screening after-show stand-up, one of the other actors (Michael Eklund) said that he now wished he hadn't encouraged her to hit him hard enough to be realistic.The supporting roles are neatly done, as well; Michael Adamthwaite in particular.The video jacket and promotion might make you think this is a film for guys. Girls: enjoy, this one's at very least as much for you. I'd give it a 9 out of 10, except that I promised I'd save my 9 for that special one :-)
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