A boring movie not worth the time

Rating: 4/10 (7 April 2005)

I just saw this movie last night, after hearing a lot about it, and I didn't really like it. It failed both as entertainment, and as art. It's not a love/hate response like some reviewers seem to be implying, it was just boring. Normally, for a movie this boring, I wouldn't waste my time writing a review, but I figured since so many people are raving about it, and that influenced my decision to see it, I'd warn others before they watched it.
I wasn't put off by the vulgar language, or the frankness about sex. I just didn't find the movie engaging. I already knew from a review I heard on the radio that none of the characters were going to be likable, so I was prepared for that and it didn't put me off. But if the purpose of art is supposed to be to evoke an emotional response, this movie failed. It's about four dislikable people, doing what you'd expect them to do. There's no sympathy towards the characters when they get screwed, because you don't like them to begin with, and no anger about what they're doing to the other characters, because the other characters are just as bad. So, it just ends up being a rather bland movie from the point of view of emotional response from the audience.
So, I wouldn't ever buy this movie, or take the time to watch it again, but that being said, not everything about this movie was awful. I think the actors and actresses did well acting their parts, there were a few humorous moments where me and my wife laughed, and (to completely lose all credibility of this review) Natalie Portman was easy on the eyes. But after watching this movie, I really just didn't like it. However, it seems that many people do, so if you like relationship movies about characters you don't like, where everybody gets what they deserve, and nobody ends up happy, go ahead and watch this movie.