What genre does this belong to?

Rating: 1/10 (1 March 2004)

I saw LiT the other day in preperation for the Oscars and afterward I asked myself, "What type of movie was this?" Since it starred the great Bill Murray, star of such hilarious movies as Groundhog Day, Ghostbusters, Caddyshack, Stripes and Rushmore(one of my favorite movies), I thought that it was a comedy. Having laughed less than three times throughout the whole movie and not once during the last hour I can conclude that it fails as a comedy. Sure the times when Murray interacts with the Japanese director and photographer it's sort of funny, but only for mere moments and then back to boredom. Okay so maybe it could be a drama, but none of it's scenes caused any type of emotional response in me except to write this review. I didn't care much about a spoiled young woman who doesn't get enough attention from her photographer husband. Even Murray's character came off as spoiled, cranky and mean. With no real humor to the character, just boredom and whoa-was-me attitude, I couldn't identify or care about him. Alright, how about a Romance? Well these actors have basically no chemistry because of the age difference. Sure maybe director, Sofia Coppola tried to convey that they were on the same wavelength and that they were the only people in all of Japan who weren't shallow or phonies, but they are shallow and phonies. Neither has very much in common except for being strangers in a strange land. So that genre fails. I guess it falls in to mystery. For example how can it win an Oscar for writing or even be nominated. For anything. Solution: Coppola. Too many pretentious Godfather fans in Hollywood. Sure there will be people who disagree with this but ask again in ten years when you will ask "Lost in What?" Hopefully Bill Murray will have won an Oscar for work that deserves the award.