$7.50 DVD and I was cheated!

Rating: 4/10 (5 March 2006)

The wife tried getting me to go see this at the show. We're big Bill Murray fans. Nominated for Oscars? I had a bad feeling and stayed home back then and bought the DVD on sale last week. Sure do wish I could get my money back. I kept wishing it was Stripes or Ghostbusters. Would it become as funny as Caddyshack or What About Bob? I would have been elated if it had been as enjoyable as Murray's Razor's Edge. On the back of the DVD some critic said it was hilariously funny. He had to be on drugs! Ebert and Roeper gave it two thumbs up. I have a feeling I know where their thumbs were!
I've been on business trips where I've felt lonely and in another world and reflected back on my less than satisfactory life at home. I've been in a position where a young woman and I shared a common attraction but I couldn't come up with the courage to overcome an age difference, and I've been in similar positions with women my own age and chosen not to pursue the relationship because either I thought she was "too" married or I was "too" married or she deserved more than being just the "other" woman. And I can understand how someone might "stray" for a night with someone who also wants to "stray" for a night.
I identified with Murray and his various predicaments throughout the movie, but found myself looking at perhaps eight lines of dialog and the scenes in the strip bar as all there was to appreciate. Murray was beautifully deadpan, but perhaps too much so, and Scarlett Johansson and Giovanni Ribisi were just boring, which is rare for Ribisi and typical of Scarlett. The only real standout for me was Anna Faris as the "Britney Spears" style actress.
Though it seemed to want to tackle some poignant issues and situations, this film seemed to be a home movie on a big budget, and like most home movies, it just seemed to go on forever and ever. I want my money back!