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BertRoeger
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Dad (2005)
Well done but very, very depressing
Ever since The Good Life I find it hard to resist anything with Richard Briers in it, so I gave Dad a try, expecting something Jacklemmonwaltermatthau-ish. But from the outset it's obvious that Dad is far more serious than that. O yes, there's a bit of humor every once in a while, but that's not what this story is about. It's - put very simply - about the reality of getting old. The loss of dignity, the loss of freedom, the loss of friends and loved ones. And it's about people who mean well and can do no good, because of the ugly circumstances.
The movie is not without it's faults: I think the way the staff and nurses of the nursing home were depicted as the bad guys was just a little bit too easy. But it also has some great acting, especially by Briers. And the ending? Well, in the end I think it just depicts what makes this movie so utterly depressing: there simply is no easy solution.
Watch it if you're ready for a bit of ugly truth.
Pay It Forward (2000)
It's life, Jim, but not as we know it!
***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** Before viewing Pay It Forward I read the Rotten Tomatoes summary of reviews, so I knew I was in for a shamelessly sentimental and manipulative experience. I still decided to go along for the ride. These days sentimentality has become a four letter word (something wrong in the maths department here) and it seems to me most critics like to keep it that way. So I had to see for myself. I did and I found out. The critics were right. Well, up to a certain point. What's really wrong here is that - quote an old philosopher - this is life, but not as we know it. The plot of this movie is very much fiction. And although the whole plot is hampered by this in the end it gets even worse. The writers come up with a very odd - sort of - happy end.
BIG SPOILER start! So these two people have just lost their little boy. They're watching his final interview on TV. (This should be an unbearable experience so short after his death.) After a while Spacey looks out the window and -start the schmaltzy music - here's all these people paying tribute to that darned little kid of theirs! Life isn't so bad after all! The end. Now we all know this story isn't over yet. What will happen is that she will start blaming him for what happened. She will start drinking again. In short: the lives of our main characters are ruined forever. BIG SPOILER end!
The movie starts out as a dream and we're invited to go along and enjoy. OK. Unfortunately it ends up insulting your intellect. And not even Spacey's finest acting can make up for that.