A good film, but unbelievably overrated.

Rating: Null/10 (1 April 2002)

Yes, it was a good film, great performances, great script, great direction but hey, it wasn't THAT good! I've heard people lauding it as the next Citizen Kane, Mendes the next Welles but it isn't, he isn't! It's just--another--film.
Bening,in particular, and the always reliable Spacey were great, and there were some great laughs from a drama like this, but I do think that the whole film was terribly overrated. As for it being the first mainstream arthouse movie'nope, Amelie is the first mainstream arthouse movie, THIS is just another American comedy-drama. I mean the whole message of there's beauty in everything, even dead birds and rubbish on a windy day. I just can't believe that the audience seemed to fall for that, such a cheesy message! In my opinion, it just gave the film an air of pretentiousness and superiority which put me off greatly- a "look at all the beauty in the world that you haven't noticed before because it took this film to show you"-kind of message. However, the film was saved by all of the performances and some genuinely interesting characters so it is worth watching, just don't expect it to change your life.