BEFORE: Kathy Bates carries over from "Dolores Claiborne", and it seems like maybe I accidentally programmed a film perfect for April 20 - or close, anyway, since I have no interest in watching "Half Baked" or "How High". Still, there are plenty of "stoner" films out there, and maybe I should have found my way to one of them, but it's not really a holiday that I tend to celebrate. Or I could have gone the other way and watched "Downfall", since it's also Hitler's birthday. Maybe next year.
THE PLOT: Following the unexplained suicide of his wife, a web designer turns to gasoline and remote-control airplanes while avoiding an inevitable conflict with his mother-in-law.
AFTER: Well, this is a downer of a movie. And I'm going to follow it up with two similarly depressing films that also star Philip Seymour Hoffman, so it should be anything but a fun weekend. Why did he always gravitate toward these roles where he played a doughy loser? I guess he found his acting niche and rode that horse about as far as he could. I think he established this persona in "Boogie Nights" and just kept coming back to it, or maybe those were the only roles that he was offered for a long while?
Anyway, there's not much of interest here - the plot is basically "guy huffs gas" which is followed by "guy huffs more gas" and "guy finds a new way to huff gas". The only other thing that happens, or rather, mostly doesn't happen, is that he spends his time NOT opening the letter that his late wife left for him. This goes on to the point where the audience may realize that opening the note is basically the only plot point, so as soon as it happens, the movie might as well be over, so this event is therefore delayed as long as possible.
The gas addiction, of course, gets in the way of the other activities in his life - but watching someone get high and pass out does not tend to make for an interesting movie. It's the technical definition of the absence of activity, after all. I guess you can make a case for some scenes that take place within the community of people who race RC planes and boats, but I think the main character only gets into that scene as a cover story, like "this is why I need the gasoline". Still, it's good to have a hobby and a purpose in life, but then if the hobby turns counter-productive, there comes a time when one needs to get a better hobby.
Besides, we're told near the start of the film that RC planes definitely do NOT use the same fuel that we put in our cars. So why would he go to the gas station, late in the film, and try to use this as a cover story? We all know that this excuse won't work, so why does he try to use it? Now I've gotta call a NITPICK POINT on this.
Secondly, there's a female co-worker who's got a crush on him, and it's quite obvious that not enough time has passed following his wife's death, because when she tells him she's attracted to him, he runs away as fast as he can. Literally. But this scene is unlikely in the first place, because we all know that women don't just throw themselves at you when you're fresh out of a relationship. Irony dictates that as soon as you get remarried or enter a new committed relationship, THAT'S when all the women tell you about their feelings for you. Am I right? Get it straight, Hollywood.
At least it's not as flashback-y as last night's film, and it does sort of seem on theme - dead husband last night, dead wife tonight - but about the best thing I can say about it is that it keeps my chain going and gets me to this 3-film P.S. Hoffman section, and I can move on from there.
Also starring Philip Seymour Hoffman (last seen in "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2"), Stephen Tobolowsky (last heard in "Mr. Peabody & Sherman"), Sarah Koskoff (last seen in "The Clearing"), Jack Kehler (last seen in "Lost Highway"), Wayne Duvall, Jimmy Raskin, J. D. Walsh, Erika Alexander (last seen in "Get Out"), Cullen Douglas, Daniel Farber, Kelli Garner, Kevin Breznahan, Joanne Pankow (last seen in "Junebug"), Chris Ellis, Jim Wise.
RATING: 3 out of 10 pancakes
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