Fairly strong writing and acting, but...

Rating: 7/10 (2 February 2011)

Alright, I'm probably going to receive an onslaught of thumbs downs for this review for simply not agreeing with the masses but oh well this is simply my opinion of the movie.
Remember Paranormal Activity when it first came out? Maybe the hype wasn't as strong for this movie as Paranormal Activity but I feel like a similar situation is going to happen with this one. On Paranormal Activity's opening and many weeks after, the film had a ridiculously high IMDb rating in the 9's I believe. Fast forward a few years later and the rating of Paranormal Activity dropped significantly. A mere 6.6. Simply put, people will probably look back at this film and think "Oh it really wasn't that good, really over-hyped." I notice on the discussion boards people simply refuse the fact that not every single person had to like this film. These people go as far as labelling the people who didn't like it as much as them as "trolls" or saying that "you just don't get this movie". I could just namedrop a bunch of avant-garde films and said I enjoy those but not this. What's the point in that though? Alright after I got that rant sorted out, I might as well talk about the actual movie.
Well for what I did like about this film was pretty much mentioned by everyone else previously. The acting was quite strong with the Rush and Firth putting on convincing performances. You generally looked forward to when these two guys were in the same shot and seeing what they would have to say. However, I don't understand why people think Firth's role couldn't be played by anyone else. Sure he does do a good job but quite a few people make it out to be the role of a lifetime. He mostly has trouble with enunciation and his anger but I'm sure any seasoned actor could portray that quite well. On the other hand, there are many one liners that will surely amuse most people by both their wit and delivery. There are also quite a few good shots in this movie with one of my favourites being after Edward viciously insults Bertie. You then see a shaken a Bertie while his brother forgets about him and goes socialize.
So this film sounds good so far? Well that's really all I can say about it. The film has fairly strong acting, writing, and a believable setting. However, there's much more to a perfect film than simply having those few characteristics down. The film's plot is okay and for the most part you're just simply waiting for the two leads to share the same shot. The plot doesn't feel that well thought out and comes across as clichéd at some parts (ie the reluctance of Bertie going to a therapist and him not believing it will work when it does, the typical joyful montage of Bertie doing exercises with the therapist, the part where they "break up" and eventually come back together in the end, etc.) Not sure if what I said previously counts as spoilers since it is pretty clichéd but I'll check spoilers off anyway. There are also not simply many good themes in this film. After you see this, you just feel uplifted that this guy overcame his stutter for a short period of time. I don't think it'll have the impact like the way say a movie like Taxi Driver does where you feel changed by it. As well as being left sitting where you are and thinking about what you just saw for a long period of time.
This is all coming from a person who had a lisp and was insulted much in the same way Bertie was, as well as having difficulties with public speaking. Even though I understand the character's position quite well and the difficulties he went through, I still don't think this was that good of a movie. Oh well, I guess people will be calling me a "troll" now but we'll see how that holds up in a few years.