A bit draggy

Rating: 6/10 (6 March 2000)

I went to see the movie not only because of the heaps of nominations it received and the buzz surrounding it. But I like such dramas with irony, parody and dark humor.
The starting was good, and held my attention and laughter pretty well. I was disappointed however when the movie started focusing on the daughter and her relationship with the neighbour's only son. In my opinion, it was on the excessive side. On the other hand, Anette Bening's character was fun, full of sarcasm and totally a high point. It would have been better if the movie could elaborate why she was such a control freak and so concerned with career success when she has everything she needs in the material sense.
For a while too, it also appeared to me that the focus was on the dysfunctional neighbour family rather than Lester's. Again, we do not know why the mother (neighbour family) seems mentally unwell. Does the movie assume that the audience understand? Or expects the blame to be on the husband? I could not figure that one out too well.
My final query is: what came over Lester at the critical point? Why did he not indulge in fulfilling his fantasy?