BEFORE: Another film featuring wedding jitters, it's sort of a loose theme for the week. Linking from "Forces of Nature", Ben Affleck was in "Paycheck" (never saw it) with Paul Giamatti (last heard in "The Ant Bully"), who stars in this one.
TCM Roadtrip, Day 7 - they're finishing off Germany with "Town Without Pity", "Desperate Journey" and "The Search", then moving on to Scotland today. I'm not adding "Brigadoon" for the same reason I didn't add "Camelot" - namely, this is my project, and not my mother's. But this evening's films are set in the Midwest, and though I'm passing on "State Fair", I will add "Bye Bye Birdie" and "The Music Man" to my collection, since I was in community theater productions of both when I was a lad. And since I've seen both films before, neither increases my list. But I did notice that the remake of "The Manchurian Candidate" is available on PPV for just $1.99, and I've been looking for that for months, so yet another push today.
THE PLOT: The picaresque and touching story of the politically incorrect life of the impulsive, irascible and fearlessly blunt Barney Panofsky.
AFTER: Judging from the clips I'd seen, and a few reviews, I thought this would be more of a romance. And I knew the tagline on the poster, which I won't repeat here, but I figured that it told me all that I needed to know about the plot, and I was only partially correct. I wasn't expecting elements of a mystery, combined with a biopic/character study. But I suppose the film reflects life, which is part romance, part mystery, and part character study - isn't it?
Barney's story is told mostly in flashback - and in the opening framing scenes, we see him prank-call his ex-wife, and we learn that someone has written a book that accuses him of being involved in a murder. Intriguing stuff - what happened between him and his wife? And who is he accused of killing?
As the story plays out, at least Barney's version of it, we learn how a promising film director ended up as a schlocky TV producer, and we eventually learn the identity of Barney's wife. Er, wives, but that's all part of the twists and turns in his life. Of course everyone's story is different, but when you meet someone who's been married multiple times, you have to at least consider the possibility that their personality has a lot to do with the break-ups.
For Barney (and, I suspect, for many other people), marriage is like an elaborate staring contest - and when the other person blinks, it's possible to be happy that you won the contest, and also sad that the game is now over. But like Ben in "Forces of Nature", I'm left wondering if Barney is supposed to be a victim of bad luck, bad timing, or just a bad disposition.
Giamatti won a Golden Globe for this film, and I think it was well deserved - but it was for Best Actor in a Comedy, and I question whether this film deserves to be regarded as a comedy. There are comic elements, sure, but overall I think it's more about life's ups and downs, the fragile nature of relationships and the ability people have to bounce back and move on. Extra point for poking fun at vegans.
NITPICK POINT: Jewish people watching hockey? I guess they're Canadian, so maybe...
Also starring Dustin Hoffman (last seen in "Midnight Cowboy"), Scott Speedman (last seen in "Underworld: Evolution"), Minnie Driver (last seen in "The Phantom of the Opera"), Rosamund Pike, Bruce Greenwood (last seen in "Dinner for Schmucks"), Saul Rubinek and Mark Addy, with cameos from directors Atom Egoyan, David Cronenberg, and Jake Hoffman (Dustin's son, playing his grandson)
RATING: 6 out of 10 Montecristo cigars
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