Don't get conned by the hype.

Rating: 2/10 (28 December 2013)

I could not wait for this movie to end. It was a complete atrocity. The overly-indulgent, sloppy chaos amounted to nothing in terms of character or story. A vague lesson spoon-fed to the audience during the first 20 minutes is I'm guessing what is supposed to excuse the senseless and bumbling bore of a circus for the next 100.
I absolutely do not understand the praise of the acting in this film. I never bought into the actors as their roles, though, honestly, there was not much else holding it together for me. Was there a script? Was there a director??? The entire sad excuse for a film seemed to be the improvised work of the actors themselves contrived in a garage somewhere after a long night of drinking.
I never was really motivated to read into the movie, and I was never really fully engaged or entertained by the shallow antics, long-hanging scenes that go on way too long, or 70's retro-obsession. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be mesmerized by watching makeup applied to Christian Bale's head or how cool walking into a 70's themed wardrobe would be. It seemed none of the actors could keep their accents. I would never label this as a comedy-- I did laugh from time to time because of how badly I wanted it to be over.
For a respectable story about individuals trying to reinvent themselves please see The Great Gatsby, The Departed, or The Town (and I'm sure there are many more).