What happened to us 99 per-centers?

Rating: 8/10 (11 January 2014)

In HER, Joaquin Phoenix plays Theo in a futuristic L.A. so exclusive that writing letters for strangers even richer than himself allows him to live in a spacious high-rise apartment with thousands of mostly unused square feet, not to mention acres of floor to ceiling windows. His is an infotainment economy, where "work" in confined to the imagination, and tasks such as growing food, pumping sewers, and picking up garbage apparently are accomplished by invisible fairies overnight while everyone sleeps. The only worries people have is how to design and outsmart video games, and how to communicate by ever more artificial and vicarious means. One might as well be watching THE SEA INSIDE, as Theo could easily be another quadriplegic protagonist for his level of physical activity. He does not swim when he goes to the beach--he just lies in the sand. He never seems to clean or cook. He just sits around on his butt. No wonder all his women soon leave him--even his store-bought imaginary friend.