DVD
REVIEW: MARGOT AT THE WEDDING
02/13/08
I consider
myself a fan of movies more than a movie critic. I love
movies. They are one of the best and safest forms of escape
that I know of. I consider myself to be what I like to call
an “Average Joe” moviegoer. My reviews are mostly directed
towards the “Average Joe” or “Average Jane” moviegoers. I
really enjoy the big mainstream productions and I have a new
affinity for indie films as well. It takes a lot for me not
to like a movie. Well, having said all that, my fellow
moviegoers, you can without a doubt skip this one. This was
one of the emptiest movies I’ve seen this year. Again, this
is the “Average Joe” moviegoer speaking and I really don’t
see the average moviegoers enjoying this movie at all. Now
on the other hand, if you are a cinematic guru who can
appreciate the finer art in its purest form, you might
actually like it. As for me, I left the theater in about the
same condition, if not worse, than as I came in. I gained
very little by watching this movie.
Don’t get me wrong, the movie is not a complete disaster.
The randomness of these oddball characters and situations
does provide some funny moments and some good ol’ fashioned
family drama which helps make the movie bearable. The
dialogue is witty and fitting to go along with the superb
acting. The problem lies in the story or lack of one. You
have a wonderfully cast picture with the likes of Nicole
Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Jack Black giving you
quality performances but with a story that takes you nowhere
and ends abruptly. You can get about as much family drama by
watching an average households’ home videos, or at least
some soap opera on TV. This is not worth the price of
admission and even the price of a movie rental is
questionable. Let’s compare it to another recent and popular
independent family drama/comedy, Little Miss Sunshine. The
family as well as the individual characters are just as
dysfunctional and everyday, but in Little Miss Sunshine
there was a meaningful goal or purpose and the drama/comedy
comes about as they journey to reach that goal. In Margot,
there is no meaningful goal or purpose other than the
turmoil between these family and non-family relationships.
Give me something to bite on and chew.
Well at least there are some nice sized crumbs that can be
scraped up. Nicole Kidman does an excellent job playing
Margot, the ever critical control freak sister and mother.
She is a neurotic, indecisive, attention addict. I will give
credit to Director Noah Baumbach for successfully capturing
the essence of everyday people in everyday scenarios but
please give me a plot. I can summarize how I feel about this
movie using one of Margot’s lines referring to Malcolm (Jack
Black) : “He's not ugly. He's completely unattractive.”
Movie
Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
VIDEO:
16x9 Widescreen
AUDIO:
English,
Spanish
Dolby Digital 5.1
English,
Spanish and French subtitles
SPECIAL FEATURES:
A conversation with Boah Baumbach and Jennifer Jason
Leigh : In this short feature Jennifer and
Boah talk about how it was working with Nicole Kidman and
Jack Black (12:55)
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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