The Film "Gone Girl" Is What "Gone Girl" Is About

Rating: 4/10 (12 December 2014)

The misanthropic ingredients in the "Gone Girl" blender result in an unappetizing drink smacking bitter.
"Gone Girl" is what stoners call a 'Goof,' i.e. a stupid joke played on those high to have a laugh at their expense. A step further; "Gone Girl" is self-reflexive and abets itself. The script for the film is part of the story of the film which is a soapy, broad slice of rancid Americana.
Simply, if Affleck/Pike were to snuggle and watch a film within "Gone Girl" it would be "Gone Girl."
"Gone Girl" is a social/media satire, and could have been one of the best ever except it both takes itself too seriously and relentlessly rubs the audience's nose in ugliness and extreme cynicism.
The filmmaker's tongues are also too far in the cheek. There are dumb as posts Ozark Dwellers/Thieves. A caricature 'Bad Girl' who gets away with murder. The insensitive, cheating dumbbell hubby. The beyond-catty Nancy Grace stand-in Missi Pyle. Even the choice of openly gay in non-cinema life Neil Patrick Harris as an obsessed former suitor underscores the satire. Like what you see? According to the filmmakers they're you.
Those who rant and rail about the lapses in logic, nuances of plot, and motivation miss the point. There is no point except to allow junk-media-obsessed America a cold hard look in a mirror. Stand back and inspect the story. Scene after scene, this film is so over-the-top as to be laughable. Except the joke, told by elitists, is on you.
Though meant to be acerbic, this satire bites too deep into the hand that feeds it. "Gone Girl" is terribly misguided. It misses greatness through lack of restraint and balance.