Boring at first, tender at moments but overwhelmingly dumb

Rating: Null/10 (31 March 2002)

This movie is blatantly overrated and praised particuarly by those on this message board. To begin with, the first half of this film is PAINFULLY dull. The main character's antics, while funny on paper and to those who think that juxtaposed banna peel jokes are God's gift to humor, fail to inspire any emotion other than eyerolling. Simply put, it goes on and on and on. The only worthwhile scene in the film takes place during the time after the child is introduced and before the concentration camp speech begins particuarly with B.'s explanation of the "No Jews and Dog's allowed" scene. But that gag fails as it is stretched way to thin once they're in a camp. The musical score was quite good as well. However, bad acting, a poor script and the constant parading of the "angelic" child makes one wonder why this film generated any awards in the first place let alone Academy acolades.
While many defenders of the film have said that those who don't like the film won't like it because one must suspend some sense of reality in order to appreciate the father-son element, they themselves either willingly or unwillingly ignore the atrocious makeup of the film itself. Simply put, the fundamentals of the film reek.