1. The characters are unlikable
A. TS's reaction to learning that a girl died is the definition of douchebaggery. No sensitivity, no concern, no nothing.
He gets massively, incredibly aggro when his GF refuses to go away on a long distance trip with him. There is no understanding, no consoling, he doesn't even say he is sorry. He just screams at her, over, and over, and over, in some kind of bizarre jealous rage.
B. Brodie is equally angry. I mean, angry angry angry. In the movie it is funny but in real life, unemployed guys who are angry all the time and yell at people all the time and scream at their girlfriend when she breaks up,, well, they tend to escalate it to violence eventually. It's as though the script is completely oblivious to the fact that he is basically, emotionally abusive to Rene. As the movie goes on, does he change? Does he grow? Well, not exactly. Not exactly.
C. The dad character is an *beep* but why? There is basically no redeemable quality in him.
2. Some of the situations are just *beep* up
A. A 15 year old writing a sex book where she goes around *beep* men up to age 30 is not really, you know, I mean, what is funny about that? The payoff is that the 'bad guy' gets arrested for *beep* her. Which is great. But something about it seems so... nonchalant and/or clueless.
B. Silent Bob tries to bang the guard with a sack of quarters. What the *beep*? You realize you can kill someone like that right? The same with the aluminum baseball bat to the back of the head.
C. Gwen ... i mean. What the *beep*. Poor Gwen.
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OK. Now, maybe I am overanalyzing. The tone of this movie is just something you probably won't ever see, ever. It's like the plot from an awful 80s cartoon mixed in with characters from Clerks and some depressing social commentary about the true attitudes and problems of youth (like Kids).
The plot literally makes no sense.... ok, we can look past that.
There are many funny situations... ok fine. There's also a 15 year old being statutorily raped by multiple people with the help of the publishing industry. How does that fit in a movie that literally has a 'keystone cops' sequence? It's *beep* bizarre.
Some people obviously love it (see comments above) but this is probably the most "askew" of the View Askew productions. The fact that these characters have almost literally zero self awareness or growth is kind of disturbing. They will insult themselves and each other, but not to the point of ever apologizing to anyone for anything that they do that hurts other people.
I guess that is the problem. The characters are, essentially, sociopathic. And while the film is funny, and cute, and interesting, and has some really unique dialogue, the fact is that these characters are *beep* *beep* They are not underdogs, they are not losers who stick to their principles to overcome adversity. They are just *beep* primitive *beep* who lose their girls because they are *beep* then get their girls back, because they trick even bigger *beep* Clerks, for example, is self-aware that Dante is a *beep* hypocrite, but this film doesn't seem to be self-aware that Brodie literally *beep* screams almost every single *beep* line he has, particularly to Rene.
That said. It does cover some bizarre ground that other films do not. So it will forever have a cult following.
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purplebear17
9 years ago
I didn't find the characters unlikable. I found Holden and Banky in Chasing Amy unlikable.
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