This movie was an unexpected treat. I expected more of a "Grumpy Old Men" type comedy that laughs at some curmudgeonly old men. Instead, it was a interesting tale of, well, tales. Tall Tales.
A young man, Walter, is dumped by his irresponsible mother at the doorstep of her eccentric uncles. The interaction between the men and the youngster are intermixed with tales of the men's younger, adventurous youth. The result is a structure similar to "Fried Green Tomatoes", but it falls well short of "Fried Green Tomatoes".
The stories of the men's youth are spun to be pretty tall tales. I think the movie would have had a much better impact if their stories were "spun" a little less. There are moments of sappy interaction between the generations, but not enough to harm the movie in any substantive way.
I would also have been more interested in understanding why Walter's mother was so selfish toward her child. I guess the desire was to keep the plot "light". In keeping the characters somewhat less than three dimensional, it fails to draw in the audience as much as "Fried Green Tomatoes".
Regardless of these shortcomings, it does deliver on an interesting plot and solid performances by the principal characters. I recommend it.
A young man, Walter, is dumped by his irresponsible mother at the doorstep of her eccentric uncles. The interaction between the men and the youngster are intermixed with tales of the men's younger, adventurous youth. The result is a structure similar to "Fried Green Tomatoes", but it falls well short of "Fried Green Tomatoes".
The stories of the men's youth are spun to be pretty tall tales. I think the movie would have had a much better impact if their stories were "spun" a little less. There are moments of sappy interaction between the generations, but not enough to harm the movie in any substantive way.
I would also have been more interested in understanding why Walter's mother was so selfish toward her child. I guess the desire was to keep the plot "light". In keeping the characters somewhat less than three dimensional, it fails to draw in the audience as much as "Fried Green Tomatoes".
Regardless of these shortcomings, it does deliver on an interesting plot and solid performances by the principal characters. I recommend it.