Too long by about an hour

Rating: Null/10 (15 December 2002)

I don't know what movie the others were watching, by this one really bugged me. Of course, I was watching it on TV, so the experience was a little different, but I found myself wondering when it was going to end. The dialog was alternately pretentious and trite. In his wonderful Disk World series of novels, Terry Pratchett has Death speak IN ALL CAPS, LIKE THIS. The script of this movie sounds as if it were written in all caps, with long pauses so we can all absorb its IMPORTANCE. Also, the adulation the author gives to the tycoon played by Anthony Hopkins irritated me. I've never met a CEO who everyone liked, although they probably pretended they did. Most of them are dreadful beasts. This is "It's a Wonderful Life" for the upper crust. Of course, it's a wonderful life, you dummy, you're rich! The choice of music in the final party sequence, which seemed to run in real time, was hokey in the extreme, though I guess most of the audience wouldn't recognize "Our Love is Here to Stay", "Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails", or even (this one is really abused) "It's a Wonderful World", all used to comment on the cheesy dialog.