Change Your Image
alhooky
Reviews
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
Vacuous and misguided
This film has left a bad taste in my mouth. Not so much the direction, photography or acting, but the story and screenplay. This is meant to be the story of a man who struggles against adversity to find happiness. What it transpires to be is the story of an irrational human putting himself and his family at risk in search of money - not happiness per se. Peppered along the way is some terrible, clichéd sound-bites for his son - "if you see something you want, take it!". In the end his gamble pays off and he lands a well-paid job, the end! The assumption that his procuring a well-paid job is intrinsically leads to a happy life for the protagonist and his son is naive and shallow in the extreme and makes the time spent watching the film feel like a brain-washing session for the corporate American 'dream'.
On the plus side there is some nice photography in this film, and it's always fun to see eras from the recent past portrayed on film. But don't expect a feel-good film if your moral centre lies nearer your brain than your wallet.
Briefest Encounter (1993)
The darkest and best.
I first saw this 'Rik Mayall Presents...' episode about ten years ago. I loved it then, but was a bit too young to REALLY love it.
I watched it again yesterday, the first time I had seen it in about 9 years. I nearly died laughing.
There are several reasons this film is so brilliant. The first is that Peter Learmouth's script is excellent. An interesting feature is the way in which the viewer ends up not knowing who to feel sorry for, albeit until the very end.
The second reason is the acting. Amanda Donohoe is great, but Rik Mayall obviously steals the show. The 'Rik Mayall Presents...' run gave Rik a chance to show off his acting skills, and he actually can give impressive performances, which is difficult to believe when you are brought up wathcing Bottom and The Young Ones.
Finally, the directing is fantastic. The constant resurgence of Rachmaninov's 2nd piano concerto adds a subtly to the film that cannot be described.
An interesting thing to observe is the number of jokes/themes that seem to have be taken from this film into the hollywood film "There's Something About Mary."
10/10 - Kudos.