An uninvolving experience

Rating: Null/10 (29 March 2004)

I'm a big fan of Bill Murray and have a diverse range of film interests, but I found this critically acclaimed movie shallow, empty and, above all, pretentious.
Basically its about two people (Bill Murray's washed up actor and Scarlett Johansen, whose photographer boyfriend is in town working) who are "trapped" in a city (Tokyo) most of us can only dream of ever visiting. What ticks me off about the movie is the way in which this "predicament" is presented as being a bad thing and, not only that, but the entire film is based around the idea that the city is boring, not to mention implying all Japanese folk are idiots.
Aside from several gags early on (one particular scene involves Murray's character being repeatedly shouted at by the director although what he actually says is very little) I found very little to be able to class this as a "comedy". By about the halfway point I was struggling to stay awake, the introduction of Anna Faris's annoying character further increasing the woe.
Were it not for Ms Coppola's relation to a well known director, I don't think this movie would have been made in the first place. It may have been the darling of the indie scene as far as the critics were concerned, but it failed to hold my attention.