You know the movie is in trouble when Jack Klugman gives the best performance. He really gets the meaning of "goniff." And he drives it home!
If this is Philip Roth's Great Gatsby, you can see where the problem lies. Jay Gatsby adores Daisy Buchanan. He forgives her mistakes. He's hurt by her but he never judges her. But the hero in this dreary story has already judged the girl the minute he walks into her house. He doesn't worship her. He thinks he's better then she is. So how can you believe she's hurt him? Or that when she rejects him he's losing something precious? This movie actually sneers at the idea of loss. And the idea of nostalgia. And the title refers to a college, not an explorer.
If this is Philip Roth's Great Gatsby, you can see where the problem lies. Jay Gatsby adores Daisy Buchanan. He forgives her mistakes. He's hurt by her but he never judges her. But the hero in this dreary story has already judged the girl the minute he walks into her house. He doesn't worship her. He thinks he's better then she is. So how can you believe she's hurt him? Or that when she rejects him he's losing something precious? This movie actually sneers at the idea of loss. And the idea of nostalgia. And the title refers to a college, not an explorer.