"M. Night is "Smilin" all the way to he bank......better than Sominex, and funny too!!

Rating: 1/10 (16 April 2005)

I hadn't seen any of M. Night Smilin's (as in "smilin all the way to the bank!) movies since "The Sixth Sense" - which was very overrated - and now I remember why. I grabbed this off the shelf of the Video Rental Store because they were out of everything else that I wanted to see..... After the first half hour of this movie, I wasn't sure whether I should laugh or cry. (I wound up laughing).
If I were to take this movie seriously - which I didn't - it would be right near the top of my list of "WORST MOVIES" I've ever seen. It would have been an excellent movie had it only consisted of music and photography. Unfortunately...there was dialog. Joachin Phoenix - who I like (and who was actually better than Russell Crowe in "The Gladiator"), was wasted in this movie. On the other hand, Adrien Brody was perfect!! The fewer lines he delivers - the better! His Academy Award for Best Actor in "The Pianist" had to be the absolute worst Best Actor award ever given. (It should have been the "Best Mumbling Award"). He does a fine job of mumbling in this film as well. As for the story, a lot of other online reviewers seem to have found it "profound". Oh-oh....I think I'm going to start laughing again. I don't know how I did it, but I managed to sit through the entire movie. My wife had enough after the first fifteen minutes and would have preferred to watch "CSI" re-runs instead.
My only possible take on this movie is that Shyamalan is "goofing" on everyone - and for this I have to give him a lot of credit. Actually getting a studio to make and promote this movie was an outstanding achievement. 99.99% of Directors couldn't make a movie this bad if they tried.....
If you're having trouble sleeping and/or would like to have a good laugh, I can highly recommend this movie!!