Utterly boring

Rating: 2/10 (5 May 2005)

Like a lot of people, I rented this based on all of the hype. I only made it through 45 minutes but based on other people's feedback, another hour wouldn't have made a difference.
I started watching and knew very shortly thereafter that this movie was not going well. Bill is bored, Scarlett is bored and so am I. I don't empathize with Bill because, even though he's away from home, he's earning two million dollars in one week making a commercial. I don't empathize with Scarlett because, even though her husband is busy a lot, she seems to have plenty of friends and chooses to spend most of her time alone. If they are bored, why shouldn't I be as well watching them? The humor seems to derive from the basest concepts. "It's funny hearing Japanese people speak English and it's even funnier to hear Bill Murray not understand Japanese". A Causcasian person intentionally mocking a Japanese person's speech may not be PC but it can be pretty funny. To show Japanese people speaking English badly and someone misunderstanding isn't. Is that the height of humor in this movie? That some Japanese people have trouble with English? I don't care about these two people; their boredom and loneliness don't mean anything to me because they don't mean anything to me. I don't care when they meet and are bored together.
I've read critics and viewers talk about the "chemistry between the actors" and how the movie captured the feeling of being alone in a foreign country. For me there was no chemistry and there was really nothing up on the screen to empathize with. I've read comments like "If you traveled alone in a foreign country, you'd understand." Well, I have traveled alone in a couple of foreign countries; when I needed to do something, I got up off of my butt and went outside.
Movies don't have to be filled with explosions and special effects but I do insist that a movie be about something.