Murray Brilliant, Movie okay at Best.

Rating: 1/10 (17 March 2004)

Good movie? Yes. Great Characters? Yes. Love Story? No. The story is affectionate and Bill Murray and Scarlett Johanason are enjoyable on screen but the film lacks an essence of love that is necessary in this type of story. This could be more a buddy-buddy picture than a love story. The random adventures through Tokyo and midnight conversations brought across a more father-daughter relationship than two people in love with each other. In the end I feel the movie reaches a peak very early on in the film and doesn't move on...its stuck, stuck at this supposed ambiguous affection for one another between the two main characters. Murray is wonderful as a washed up actor stuck in a mid-life crisis (nut did not compare to Sean Penn) and Johanason, while not her best work (I recommend Girl with a Pearl Earring) is charming. Yet, the story is stuck in a rut of over blown life philosophy and drab dialogue that keeps me wondering why either of them go on with their lives. The movie does have its memorable moments, but overall it is not a great Love Story.