Saw this movie on PPV last night. I remembered it had good reviews from most people who saw it, but had bad reviews from critics because it was too predictable. I thought I would give it a try and started watching it, but it was on late so I figured I would just record the last half and watch it tomorrow. That way, it wouldn't interfere with my precious sleep.
I never budged an inch. Neither did SO. Watched the whole thing. Never even twitched toward the record button. We were captivated. Definitely one of the best movies of the year. Definitely my kind of movie...a rich, dark comedy, but not stupid like Something About Mary.
George Clooney is just so damn watchable in it. Well, everyone was, actually. Such wonderful, rich characters that you instantly knew. Clooney plays Ryan, a man who travels 11 months of the year for his work. He considers the skies, airports and planes his home. At first, you think, ah, this is going to be a movie about some cynical old guy who regrets he never settled down, never got married, never had kids. You quickly realize that it's not the case, because Ryan is happy. When he says, this is my home, meaning his lifestyle, you believe him. He loves his life the way it is, so much so that he fights his boss to keep doing what he is doing. He doesn't consider himself lonely. He even has a guest lecture circuit that he does where he teaches people how not to have baggage in their lives. He tells them, don't hang on to things, to people, because then you have to deal with their baggage. Very interesting. A very exciting outlook on life, and one I could embrace.
The whole plot setup is ripe for a 'aha' moment, when Ryan will see that he needs people and relationships in a stable way, not just people he meets once and will never see again. The plot is definitely predictable as heck. You can see it coming like a train, chugging along to its undeniable conclusion.
And suddenly the train is there and you see that yes, you were right. There are about three plot points that are easy to guess. But the final bit, the bit where Ryan is supposed to grow as a character and come to the dawning realization....it's there too. But, it was there in a different way than we thought. Instead of falling in love, or helping his family deal with some crisis, or having a crisis himself, he comes to the conclusion by failing at love.
And that was the amazing thing to me. He didn't end up happy with the girl, making up for lost time in his relationship karma. He ended up hurt and rejected. And THAT made him realize that he needed something more from relationships. Wow, that sounds odd. Hard to explain. It just seemed more believable to me, the way he came to the conclusion. I was left with an overwhelming sadness for him, even though it wasn't a sad movie. I found myself shedding a few tears even.
Anway, see it if you haven't. It's a great movie. If you have seen it, let me know what you thought.
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