A cast of "hip" young actors - no, wait, I should also put quotes around "actors" - ham their way unconvincingly through what is at bottom no more than a boy-meets-girl, girl-likes-boy, boy-plays-hard-to-get, girl-gets-boy story. The characterisation of the two quote-buff literary romantic leads is creaky and unconvincing, while Jennifer Aniston is cringe-making as she puts on her fake Irish or Southern or Canadian accents. Some of the most turgid scenes leave the impression of the cast groping for the script, for what was *supposed* to be funny or interesting in the scene, and sound more like readings or rehearsals than actual takes. The invocation of Frank Sinatra as a unifying theme is wearyingly trite, not to mention the invocation of more present-day cultural icons in the "voice of a generation" scene, which was positively embarrassing. The *very worst* scene in the film is the one in which boy does in fact meet girl, in which all the stops are pulled out - the shot, which is in black and white, goes into slow motion as "David" enters the coffee shop, then, when the eyelines meet, there is a transition to color, starting with his eyes, which are of course blue. I felt physically sick. Of course, you might like it.
Review of Dream for an Insomniac
