The cast is good, the acting was good, but...
The movie: unhappy marriage, unhealthy coping habits, neglected kid caught in the middle; believable American story, no surprises there. The trailer leads you to believe this is a light-hearted, or maybe not so light-hearted comedy, but at least an enjoyable movie that would have, if not a happy ending, at least an ending that implies things are going to be okay. No. A tragic situation is compounded by not just bad decisions, but stupid bad decisions. There's a moral component of Jenna Fischer's character not wanting to take money from a lawsuit she feels would be based on a lie coupled with a dishonorable lie of epic proportions, dope smoking, sex with a loser, and an affair that would have devastating potential. The story goes nowhere. There's no growth, no maturation, no point to story. The credits rolled and their lives were still miserable with little indication they would get better.
And on the dope smoking note; wherever you stand on the issue, depicting a 9th grade student smoking weed is crossing a line.
Jenna Fischer: maybe a roll she took to shake the clean "Office" image? It didn't work. I still saw Pam and every other character was a Michael Scott scenario at some point in the series. She played the part well, it just seemed to be an extreme step of expanding her range.
For those who can see deep meaning and artistic expression you may love this movie. Other reviewers obviously saw something in it I didn't. It could have gone somewhere, ANYWHERE, but it just fell flat.
The movie: unhappy marriage, unhealthy coping habits, neglected kid caught in the middle; believable American story, no surprises there. The trailer leads you to believe this is a light-hearted, or maybe not so light-hearted comedy, but at least an enjoyable movie that would have, if not a happy ending, at least an ending that implies things are going to be okay. No. A tragic situation is compounded by not just bad decisions, but stupid bad decisions. There's a moral component of Jenna Fischer's character not wanting to take money from a lawsuit she feels would be based on a lie coupled with a dishonorable lie of epic proportions, dope smoking, sex with a loser, and an affair that would have devastating potential. The story goes nowhere. There's no growth, no maturation, no point to story. The credits rolled and their lives were still miserable with little indication they would get better.
And on the dope smoking note; wherever you stand on the issue, depicting a 9th grade student smoking weed is crossing a line.
Jenna Fischer: maybe a roll she took to shake the clean "Office" image? It didn't work. I still saw Pam and every other character was a Michael Scott scenario at some point in the series. She played the part well, it just seemed to be an extreme step of expanding her range.
For those who can see deep meaning and artistic expression you may love this movie. Other reviewers obviously saw something in it I didn't. It could have gone somewhere, ANYWHERE, but it just fell flat.