Open Your Wallet

Rating: 3/10 (16 December 2001)

I can't help but feel bothered by the fact that I spent 9 dollars watching Tom Cruise run around Times Square trying to look confused. VANILLA SKY starts off as a real nail biter, that is until Tom Cruise stops acting like Tom Cruise and becomes Paranoid-Tom-Crazy-Cruise. No matter how hard he tries, Cruise just isn't taken seriously outside of a witty romance. And once again, will someone please drag Penelope Cruz into the street and riddle her with bullets? Yes, she has a pretty smile and I'm sure Tom and she make a snazzy couple, but the poor girl can't act. However, Jason Lee does it again, delivering a great supporting role without so much as breaking a sweat. Cameron Diaz is deliciously evil, though her part grows old toward the end of the film.
VANILLA SKY desperately needed another hour on the cutting board, deleting some of the nonsense that just adds to the complete confusion of the audience. Now, I'm not saying I don't like confusion. I loved FIGHT CLUB, THE SIXTH SENSE, THE MATRIX, and any other movie that might be labeled as a psychological thriller. But Cameron Crowe's cast seems lost in the film, not sure if this is a surreal romance or a sci-fi horror flick or what. Without ruining the ridiculous "plot twist" (an embarrassing deus ex machina), it is difficult to elaborate on the shamefully low point of VANILLA SKY. After two hours of laughing at Tom Cruise's serious lines and groaning at his supposedly funny ones, I will say this much: (*SPOILER*) How come he got to jump off the building?"
For Trying So Hard: *1/2 of ****