This deserves an Oscar?!

Rating: Null/10 (2 October 1999)

There were so many things that were wrong with this movie I can't understand why it's been so massively embraced. For one, film makers kept switching back and forth between satire and realism so often it made my head spin, and hurt the realism of the film overall. It didn't help that only half of the characters were at all developed. The mom in particular barely seemed human except for a few brief moments that left me unconvinced. In addition, some scenes were so contrived they could have come straight from be grade B sitcom, only with grim consequences. Not only that but I felt that certain plot devises insulted my intelligence. In the beginning, they make you think that things are going to be one way but then they present two other possibilities. Only one of the three makes enough sense to be what's going to happen so I found it greatly irritating every time they tried to lead me in the wrong direction. I saw certain things coming a mile away so I was in awe when other people were so surprised. Not to mention that the re-occurring motif with all the red was hardly inspired. It's been done. I didn't feel uplifted when I left the film either, only disgusted. But Oscar does love pretension so I'm sure this movie will sweep and annoy the you-know-what out of me again.