This is a movie trying to be a sixties knock off romantic drama

Rating: Null/10 (27 September 2003)

Lost In Translation- Rated R.
I went to see the Bill Murray movie, "Lost in Translation". This is the new movie by Sofia Coppola who before this directed "Virgin Suicides and before this, Co-starred in "Godfather 3" directed by her father, Francis Ford Coppola. This movie was OK, but not the knock out punch that some critics were leading me to believe. The movie stars Bill Murray as an aging Movie Star Bob Harris who flies into Tokyo to do a commercial for Japanese TV and Scarlett Johansson who plays Charlotte, An American newlywed wife of a freelance photographer who both have trouble on their mind. They can't sleep. The movie never really tells us what is troubling the two of them. I guessed that Bob is troubled about taking the big paycheck for doing the ad (selling out) and leaving his family in the states and Charlotte is looking for her purpose in life. The movie didn't have to tell us the big truth but a great movie would imply something like that. I was thinking about the John Landis Movie, Into the Night" about a sleep deprived Jeff Goldblum who runs around with Michele Pfeiffer and in the end, gets a good night sleep. Goldblum's insomnia was eventually explained to his wife's infidelity and failing marriage but `Lost in Translation' doesn't really pay off that well. The 2 main characters do form a friendship that grows larger then physical love. When Bob sleeps with the hotel lounge singer, the moment when Charlotte finds out was like Bob cheated on her and not his own wife who is more interested on redecorating their house then How Bob is doing in Japan. This movie also reminds me of an old Dustin Hoffman - Mia Farrow movie, John and Mary except these main characters were married to other people and not each other and they would have been played by Victor Mature and Mia farrow. This was at times cute but forgettable in the end. The best parts in this movie were Murray. Even though he is in his early 50's and there is still a comic spark that I felt was trying to get out of these two lonely spectators of love. His SNL lounge singer resurges for a moment when they two of them go to a Japanese Karaoke Bar and Murray hammers it out. Bill Murray, come back and do a real romantic comedy with Diane Keaton or an actress his age. That's what this movie was really telling us, but, in the end of this movie, that fact was probably, "Lost in Translation". Hello!!