Not a total waste of time, but close.

Rating: 3/10 (12 May 2004)

The first question that pops into mind, after seeing this, is: "How the heck did she get that Oscar?" Then I realize that it's because of her surname and that if her name would have been Joan Smith or something like that, she wouldn't even get nominated.
Yet, this is not a total waste of time (even though it is very close). The movie is very subtle and with a toned down tempo; the main characters are well played by both Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray. But I think that Ms. Coppola missed out of something when writing this.
Both main characters are like zombies in a world filled with pastiche-like technology freaks. The only times the characters live up in any way are when they met each other and not even then do they really come alive. During the entire movie I found myself thinking "Come on, do something". Nothing happened, so I waited for some kind of action from the characters but the lack of this was total. The only reaction in the whole movie was when Charlotte cried after a hug from Mr. Harris.
Ms. Coppola has taken the dramaturgical model and made it extremely small in this movie and it was a good try, but it becomes boring and does not give anything to the viewers.