My new favorite movie!

Rating: Null/10 (10 February 2004)

In the last month, I have seen this movie three times. It is one of the best movies I've ever watched and definitely my favorite movie that has come out within the last five years. It's wonderful! I think that it is not only realistic (in the emotional anxiety the lead character suffers from), but also because it really shows how people can hide their true feelings and keep a smile on their faces, even when they're really feeling like crap on the inside. Everyone in this movie did such a terrific job. The only person I felt was not suitable for her role was Jena Malone. She was great in Stepmom, but not right for this character she tried to portray. However, the lead, Jake Gyllanhaal, really shined. I have only seen him in two other roles, the first of the two others was, Moonlight Mile, and The Good Girl, in which he also plays a little mentally disturbed. And being an avid Drew Barrymore fan, I felt that this was the best role she had ever been in, as small as it may have been. I was also surprised to learn that she was one of the executive producers to the film.
All in all it was a great watch, and I can't wait to watch it with more people to see what their reactions will be. And in case you don't already know it, a fun piece of trivia is that Jake's sister in the movie, is his real sister in real life too. Noah Wyle and Patrick Swayze were the other two small characters in the film and I thought they were really good. I'm not a big fan of Swayze's but I thought this was the best role I'd ever seen him in as well. I also thought that the woman who played the annoying teacher, Ms. Farmer, was really good. She made you hate her so much and she was really good in her role. She really became her character.
Weird, bizzare, and confusing might describe this movie for some, but for me it was beautiful, interesting, funny and really well written and directed. The construction of the movie was intricate and unusually put together nicely for such a confusing structure of a story. Again, I enjoyed this movie a great deal, and hope to hear anyone else's thoughts on the piece. A definite 10 out of 10.
And that's the end of my review.