Doesn't Scrub Up

Rating: 5/10 (16 October 2014)

I had looked forward to seeing this film for a while, but come away disappointed that I didn't get more out of what looked like a promising, thoughtful movie. It's not as bad as some of the more disparaging reviews would have you believe, but it's nowhere near as clever as it thinks it's being.
Quite a few of the positive reviews on here describe it as 'subtle', which to me is a complete misnomer - 'underwhelming' is a more apt description, i.e. nothing much happens plot-wise and the dialogue is pretty stilted. There really isn't any subtlety in the symbolism within the film, and the message is drilled in way too much, with some particularly cringe-inducing, knowing-wink-worthy dialogue ''Have fun exploring the abyss'' ''You too'' was particularly garish and predictable .
I found this fairly patronising approach to the viewer was also reflected in Braff's creation of the love interest who, though played well by the as-ever on form Natalie Portman, seems to be little more than a mildly disturbing Holden Caulfield-esque 'innocent' fantasy girl. So it largely fails on the 'serious' elements, and it really isn't funny enough to make up for it either. There are a few good moments, but, perhaps unsurprisingly, a more depressed version of JD doesn't generate that many laughs.
The considerable acting talent in this film does warrant it some praise at least, but even the likes of Ian Holm, and the aforementioned Portman, couldn't fully save this for me. Not dreadful by any means, but ultimately Braff's writing struggles to deal with fairly heavy themes succinctly enough or with much originality. 5