Pretentious fraud

Rating: 3/10 (14 November 1999)

This movie contains a number each of touching, funny, shocking, and brutally satirical scenes, all lovingly photographed and acted, from several incompatible movies that the director could have made. The problem is, he never decided which one he was making. Some of the ones he probably had in mind were Good Neighbor Sam, Ice Storm, and It's a Wonderful Life.
I don't usually get so bent out of shape when a movie has an inconsistent tone, or doesn't respect its characters, or goes for the feel-good copout, but this movie really made me mad, because it kept pretending to offer things that it never delivered - from the pretentious omniscient after-I-died birds-eye-view to the 'just joking' clue about who killed the guy in the end. (I hope you all don't think this is a spoiler. Actually, I don't see how you can give a spoiler for this film, because although the opener is red herring, the real ending has no particular meaning or surprise to spoil.)
I suppose I should offer some justification for how much I hated this movie. Okay: 1) How warm and fuzzy should we feel about a statutory rapist, if he can't bring himself to deflower a virgin? 2) Do you think 'I was just joking' is a good way to resolve an outrageous teaser? (How about "and then I woke up"?) 3) Can you feel a good, warm-and-fuzzy 'go for it' kind of feeling about a guy who suddenly regresses to infantile behavior just when his wife and child really need him? 4) Do you really think that shouting, throwing food around and ruining the furniture is a good way to reestablish legitimate male authority in the family? And that that's what women really want? 5) Do you really so jaded that adult sex won't do it for you, and you need to see teenage breasts?
Fine. Here's your movie.