Pretty good

Rating: 8/10 (11 September 2004)

I really liked this movie... granted it's not the most drop dead brilliant movie ever, but considering the drivel that's been shoved into the market lately, it's pretty good. Some say that if you claim to "relate" to it and live outside of NJ, you somehow didn't get it or are a mental lightweight looking for deep meaning in a flimsy film. That's ridiculous. I don't think there's anything that hasn't been said before in this movie, but there are still parts of it that one can relate to. As someone who had to go home for the funeral of a parent and deal with the same kind of family and friend issues, I saw a lot in this that I could relate to. It wasn't pretentious or trying too hard, it was just there. It said what needed to be said without the fanfare, which is how things really happen. I didn't care too much for the "screaming-into-the-abyss" bit, and the very end could have been better, but that doesn't prevent you from becoming involved in the story. And P.S. Zach Braff is totally funny in this movie. There's humor all over the place, sometimes it's just a little more subtle. Whoever missed that is dense.
8/10