great movie; are we miserable because of the movies we see?

Rating: 9/10 (3 January 2001)

Are we miserable because of the movies we see, or do we see those movies because we are miserable?
This is definitely a DVD to own.
I read a lot of the comments here, and especially cracked up at the person who walked out half way through and wondered why Rob didn't "bitch slap" his obnoxious employee. Hey, it's in there - you missed it.
Okay, this movie is like a dose of Gertrude Stein - you get a layer of an emotion, and then another way gets brushed on, and it *IS* more about setting a mood and defining characters than telling a linear story. But, if all you have a taste for is linear stories, you would find this movie a little frustrating. Like, "the characters don't DO ANYTHING" - they don't take dramatic action. They kind of live day by day.
Yes, this is a chick flick for guys. A guy movie without gratuitous violence or gratuitous nudity (although tiny bits of both).
Is it merely a remake of Annie Hall (with hipper music)? I'd say it's a deeper exploration into the breakdown of the male psyche during the examination of a string of failed relationships, which only part of Annie Hall was about. Annie Hall actually had a little about Annie Hall. I felt Laura really remained an enigma to Rob - we don't get to see inside her head, but we get to really see inside his head. Rob wants answers, and Laura doesn't give them.
That this movie works to build sympathy for flawed characters (both Laura and Rob) is one of the charming aspects. You are witnessing people in their own self-absorption, which doesn't everybody have at some point in their life?
Here are my Top 5 reasons for purchasing the DVD:
1. You want the bonus deleted scenes, I think there's 9. I feel 2-3 are throwaway's, 2 were probably cut because they talked down to the audience, and 1 was probably cut because it reveals too much of what's in Laura's head. But, the rest are gold - should have been in the movie. It's like I want to edit them back in. Make my own "compilation movie".
2. You want to turn on the subtitles at some point. It's the quickest way to catch the overlap between the dialog going on and the music/lyrics playing in the background.
3. Nice to have Frears and Cusacks interviews in the Bonus material.
4. Okay, this is a reason the DVD sucks: You have to Chapter skip previews for "Mission to Mars", "Deuce Bigalow" and "Scream" before the DVD Title page shows up. I think it's lame to put anything before the Title on a DVD.
5. You want to watch it again...
I didn't see this movie in the theater because I thought I had to be qualified to understand obscure musical references and I thought it was completely about tracking down former girlfriends without the injection of the hilariously dysfunctional system of the three folks working at the record store.
I loved this movie; it was a riot. But, it's a 9/10 because near the ending it really felt a little like "divine plot device intervention". But, not your typical pat Hollywood ending - that's probably why this movie runs a little longer. You look at your watch, you THINK it's over...