excess is not always a virtue

Rating: 5/10 (23 April 2006)

so many people i know really liked this movie. unfortunately, i am not one of them. but at least i know why, too much. baz luhrmann, brilliant director, a visionaire, i just wish he knew when to say when. my impression of this film was that he felt the need to take every cool idea he ever had and put them all in the same movie. as a result of this overkill i found it difficult to pay attention to what was going on because i never really knew what was the intended center of attention, as opposed to extraneous contributions. had there been half as much...crap in this movie i would have loved it. it has a great story, it is a brilliant idea, and an amazing cast. unfortunately when all put together, with about a dozen other factors of equal intensity, it is overkill. like wearing plaid and polka-dots...and then putting a bright red bow on your head.