Watchable, with the right expectations

Rating: 5/10 (31 March 2008)

What I mean by this is, if a group of friends really wanted to rent it, I wouldn't spend a 'veto' against the film with the group, but I wouldn't pick it either. It's tolerable if you don't expect too much from this 'box of chocolates'.
I saw this when it came out, and I haven't seen it since.
What struck me, was that when it was over, that people exiting the film were completely silent. I don't know why the other people in the theater were silent, but I was because the film really didn't deliver. I felt it took me on a long trip to nowhere. Those in my group felt the same way. But clearly, many other people feel otherwise.
While somewhat watchable and pleasant enough to see unfold, and mildly funny at times, expectations of 'something profound' are instead met with a really shallow parade of clichés and stereotypes in a narcissistic baby-boomer nostalgia orgy, the kind of thing that was already wearing out it's welcome from 'the big chill' film & 'thirty-something' type TV shows.
The viewer seems obligated to sit there and click on pop icons of the baby boomer past, to make them get off the screen and move on to the next. It's a very shallow parade through history.
I'm not politically correct by any means, but it does seem like the worst stereotype was pushed of the Vietnam vet, along with other characters, I'm sure many people found some of these characters degrading. A 'slow person' was kind of made fun of, without any real purpose. Some parts of the movie, such as 'the run' was just spontaneous, stupid and pointless.
If I had no real expectations, I might not have found it as offensive. But the presentation as though this was something culturally profound when it's not left me flat.