First of all, my friend Stephen Falk tweeted: If Glenn Close doesn’t call her autobiography Extremely Loud and Incredibly Glenn Close, she’s a dum dum.
I can’t think of a better joke than that one, so there you go.
First of all, my friend Stephen Falk tweeted: If Glenn Close doesn’t call her autobiography Extremely Loud and Incredibly Glenn Close, she’s a dum dum.
I can’t think of a better joke than that one, so there you go.
Also, there’s not a lot to joke about with this movie, which kind of makes me mad. Good movies are the least fun movies to review. Give me a Spice World over The Truman Show any day.
I read the book. I mention that mostly so you’ll know that I’m smarter than you. Then, you’ll feel bad, and easily yield to my opinions, understanding my expertise in this matter. Then again, maybe you read the book, too. Great, so we’re even.
I loved the book. I found it to be Extremely Touching and Incredibly Sad. Extremely Tender and Incredibly Well-written. Extremely Deep and Incredibly Moving.
Then I heard there was going to be a movie. Yay? And that movie would star Tom Hanks (uhh) and Sandra Bullock (eww). Not that I don’t love them both in a way. It just felt like too much. The book is too much. The subject (9/11) is too much. Movies are never as good as the book, and to helm it all with the power one-two punch of Hanks-Bullock, is just—It’s just gross. It’s panhandling for Oscars outside of the Kodak Theater. And winning. “Hanks and Bullock in a movie about 9/11 and loss, sorry other films of 2011!”
But, I got the screener (please see above, where I’m superior). Okay, truth time. I get screeners because years ago, I got a writer’s union job writing for Larry the Cable Guy. So, again, we’re even. Actually, you’re a little ahead.
It was New Year’s Eve, and my boyfriend and I, inspired by the Waitresses’ Merry Christmas decided we’d sort of skip New Year’s, Just stay in, take it easy, and watch a screener. Why didn’t they send a screener of New Year’s Eve? Who knows. We popped it in, figuring it’d at least be good, and I could finally know that it is not as good the book.
We cried and held each other for two hours.
Oh my god! I can’t say much more. Spoiler alert upon spoiler alert. You know it’s about 9/11, which will already rip your heart out. And about how a boy lost his dad. Jesus, good luck. And about the boy setting out on a journey around New York just so he can feel close to his dad, for just a little longer. I can barely even type this.
It is good, and it is sad. And not too schlocky, too. Bullock wasn’t all Bullock-y. I didn’t feel like I was watching ‘a Sandra Bullock’ movie. She was performing in a movie. It was restrained, and that was appreciated. Hanks was a little Hanks-y, but we weren’t supposed to fall in love with him, which was refreshing.
It’s not as good as the book, but it’s good. If you’ve read the book (do), there’s extra information for you to enjoy. For example, you know what’s in the suitcase.
Is it a good date movie? YES!!!! Classic good date movie. You’ll feel like you’ve been through a tragedy. You’ll feel like good people. You’ll cry snotty tears on each other. It may not be a great first date movie, but it’ll move your relationship forward a year and a half.
The movie ended and we came to somewhere around 9 pm, and then we had to go out. We couldn’t stay home, it was just too sad! So we hit a party. Later, he started picking up people who needed cabs and charging them for rides. We made $70. All in all, a good night.
Laura House