I wanted to dislike this movie. I'm not sure why. It's probably because of Ben Dorenfeld. He couldn't sing the praises of this movie enough and because of that I went a LONG time without seeing it. I'm a big fan of spite and I'm an even bigger fan of spiting Ben. So when this was under my tree I wasn't sure what to feel. And then I decided to let 14 years of spite go and watch it with an open mind. What a treat! Though I cannot really relate to the time period (1973) or to the music (I don't consider myself a huge fan of music), I could really relate to Will Miller's struggles as an adolescent. My mom wasn't as strict and I wasn't so smart that I skipped a few grades, but I did (like everyone else) have my struggles.
Will had a few main struggles. He struggled to appear cool, he struggled to appear older and he struggled with his first real crush. He went from being a sheltered kid to seeing things that most people will never see (Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll!!!). It was some pretty riveting stuff. All in all, this is an amazing movie. I found a few of the scenes to be a little bit hard to believe and unnecessary (the scene in the plane mostly), but I can forgive it. Some of it was a bit hokey, but it fit the film. Anyway, Ben was right and I was wrong.
Okay, real talk. Before I had read a word of this review I was prepared for you to just ream into the movie, and I was then prepared to drop a quick "But other than this, Ben had great taste in movies" or something similarly glib.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I too liked this movie. But yeah, that plane scene...
I mean there are some issues with the film, but I've been feeling nostalgic all week thanks to Christmas and this was the right movie at the right time for me. I am not sure why everyone was so impressed with Kate Hudson's performance...
ReplyDeleteI thought she was just fine, and even a little bit endearing. Which is to say, I thought this was far and away the best performance of Kate Hudson's career! But yeah I don't understand the Oscar nomination either.
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