BEFORE: I don't even need to exploit the Jason Segel/Paul Rudd connection, since Rashida Jones carries over from "The Muppets".
THE PLOT: A comedy centered on an idealist who barges into the lives of his three sisters.
FOLLOW-UP TO: "I Love You, Man" (Movie #826), "Dinner for Schmucks" (Movie #949)
AFTER: This is a tough one for me to rate, merely because the lead character, Ned, is pitched to us as an idiot. Somehow, that's worse than being a "schmuck". I don't tolerate idiots in real-life, not among my co-workers or even my friends, so why should I be interested in one as the central character in a story? Even if you look back on children's stories, it's rare for a character to be portrayed as dumb - except maybe "Winnie the Pooh", he's pretty clueless. It's the main reason I avoided watching "Dumb & Dumber" for so long, I just don't want to care about dumb people.
I suppose "The Hangover" managed to pull it off, with the Zach Galifianakis character portrayed as so out-of-touch with reality, and some of the Will Ferrell films, like "Anchorman" and "Talladega Nights", but those characters end up being the butt of the jokes, and we're not expected to root for them. An actor's got a much tougher row to hoe if the character is supposed to be clueless AND the hero of the story.
Plus, this is also a toxic character - he means well (and if you've read many of my reviews, you know that's about the worst thing I can say about someone) but he ends up destroying the lives of each of his three sisters in some way, as he is shuttled off from one to the next. There is something positive to be said in the end about each of the interactions, but this doesn't excuse the fact that he inadvertently caused them harm. Or, I suppose you could say that they were each living in a glass house of sorts, and he just happened to be the one that threw the stone. But still...
And what are we to make of Ned, is he a hippie, a hipster, a slacker or a stoner? And yes, there is a difference, but he exhibits traits of them all. He works as an organic farmer (hippie), but then hangs out on the NYC social scene (hipster). He couch-surfs between his mother's house and his sister's apartments (slacker) and gets busted for pot (stoner). So he's some weird combination of all of them.
In the end, this wasn't an annoying film, but neither do I feel that it went out of its way to entertain. I wish that it had been funnier, or more charming, or more something in some direction, rather than ambling through the plot the way Ned ambles through life. The best thing about the film was probably the ending, and not just because it meant the film was over, but because it was the only part where I felt a hint of real sentiment, and it wasn't just people screaming at each other.
Also tarring Paul Rudd (last seen in "Dinner for Schmucks"), Zooey Deschanel (last seen in "Your Highness"), Elizabeth Banks (last seen in "Seabiscuit"), Emily Mortimer (last seen in "The Saint"), Steve Coogan (last seen in "Marie Antoinette"), Adam Scott (last seen in "The Aviator"), T.J. Miller (last seen in "Get Him to the Greek"), Shirley Knight (last seen in "Paul Blart: Mall Cop"), Kathryn Hahn, with cameos from Polly Draper, Julie White.
RATING: 5 out of 10 drug tests
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