good but wildly over praised

Rating: 4/10 (7 December 2011)

Sue me I'm not in love with the film.
Yes it's funny. yes it has some charming moments, but I can not for the life of me understand how this is the front runner for this years Oscars.
The plot of the film has a silent movie star meeting an extra at a premiere. Meeting again the next day on a set they are both smitten, but he's married. As her star rises, his begins to fall since he won't move from silents to sound films. However their lives remain intertwined....
I laughed, a had a tear or two but I wasn't blown away. For me the film isn't all the critics have said. It's not so much a loving homage to American silent films, its more a homage to some one's idea of silent films if they really haven't seen them. The pastiche's mostly fall flat feeling more like recreations of recreations (The only silent film that feels like a real silent film is the material they stole from Fairbank's version of Zorro). There are other problems with the historical things in the film, but they are not important since this is after all just a comedy.
To be honest the real problem is the film's short changes too much. Characters, such as our hero's wife are more cardboard than real. There is also the casting of people like Ed Lauter and Malcolm McDowell in roles that give them billing, but in reality are glorified walk ons (was stuff cut?) The plot also leaps through time not building to anything simply moving from moment to moment hoping that we in the audience will fill in all that isn't said.
Don't get me wrong I don't hate the film, I just don't think it's the nearly the best of anything of the year.
Worth a look but don't feel the need to fight the crowds.