One of the MOST overrated movies ever! Don't be fooled by the pseudo-intellectuals who keep on saying that the people who did not like this movie did not "get it". That's BS!! There is nothing to get.
Only watch this movie if you want to see Scarlett Johansen walking around in her underwear in a couple of scenes.
Boring movie!!!
shareFunny thing, I enjoyed it tremendously in the theater, and found it fell flat when I saw it on TV a couple of years later. I realized that it's only interesting if you pay close attention to everyone's subtle reactions, that it can't stand up to the commercial breaks and distractions of home viewing.
I don't know if that's a criticism or not, but I suppose I like the movie overall.
Commercial breaks would kill this movie, and so would things like half-watching while playing with your phone; but when I watch the DVD at home, I still love its droll wit.
shareI haven't seen this one since watching it in the theater, so I don't know what my reaction would be to it today. I did love it in the theater.
I am sure I will eventually see it again. I generally like anything Bill Murray does, at least from what I have seen of his.
Brilliant movie but it's supposed to be boring, isn't it? It's two characters, bored with life, finding distraction in each other's company while exploring the wonders of a foreign land. Helps if you fetishsize Japanese culture I suppose.
shareIt's about being jet-lagged, culturally disoriented and sometimes bored, but the film itself is never boring. I remember when we were discussing the character, Uncle Pumblechook in the novel Great Expectations. My English professor told us, "It's clear that the character is a bore--but it is not boring to read about him. The author can never bore the reader." Widen that statement by substituting "artist" for "author," and you have a valuable lesson; one that is much too often ignored today. "Hey, it's SUPPOSED to be boring!" "Hey, you're SUPPOSED to have talent, aren't you?"
shareBoring if you have a dull mind. There's plenty of interesting intellectual stuff, beauty, and comedic warmth. A true classic.
Kind of started slow, but once they joined the ninja school and then fought the undead army it picked up.
shareThis movie is far less boring than most action movies.
shareBingo! This, and The Girl With The Pearl Earring, are the only two Scarlett Johansson movies that I can stand. If you don’t like Bill Murray, don’t watch this movie. If you don’t like wit, as opposed to comedy, don’t watch this movie. For the (by now, probably few) rest of us, this is a treasure. Chockablock with nuance, dollerie and wit.
You might be overthinking it.
I don't think there's much of a message to 'get'. The film is pretty self-explanatory. Bob is simply a guy who's wandering around Japan on a business trip, and appears to be bored and unsatisfied with life...that is until he meets Charlotte. And then they fall in love...Bob finds a new meaning to life...and so on. You know the story! It's a very generic and overly used one. But with that being said, the generic plot doesn't exactly define the overall film. I don't know if it's just me, but I thought the cinematography, the location, and the whole atmosphere of the film was just excellent...sort of melancholic, in a good way. Or maybe it was just the whole scenery of Japan...I don't know. Maybe it was the cast. Something about this movie is just unique. It's not for everyone. It's not one of those movies I'll be in any hurry to watch again. But it's worth at least one viewing.
The story sprang from Sofia's experience with an aging actor when she was young.
Sofia offers potent insights on the nature of romantic love. For one, love transcends age (Bob is 35 years older than Charlotte). For another, it's possible to be married and experience romantic love for another. Not that this justifies adultery. Note how comfortable Bob and Charlotte are with each other, how they look into each other's eyes, the windows of the soul. This can happen in the flash of a moment where the two people just KNOW, or it can take place over a period of time, as is the case with Bob and Charlotte (a handful of days). They see the same things and speak the same language, and I don't mean English. But this presents a conundrum for Bob. Bob COULD take advantage of Charlotte because she's so lonely in a sea of people; she's also inexperienced and vulnerable. Will he or won't he take advantage?
If Bob loves Charlotte so much, not to mention his wife, why does he have a one-night stand? Bob slept with the singer to release sexual tension that had been building up between him & Charlotte. This was a moral failure, but keep in mind he was drunk (another failure, but he was going thru a mid-life crisis).
Bob could've taken advantage of Charlotte but doesn't because he genuinely loved her, which is revealed at the end. He makes with the singer because he didn't love her (not that it justifies his actions). Simply put, true love transcends sexual expression and sexual union does not equal love.
The ending is powerful and tear-inducing. No CGI, explosion or action stunt can compare. It's just an older man and a too-young woman embracing in the midst of 20 million strangers. Tears flow, kisses are given and unheard words are whispered. They could never be a couple, even if they weren't married, and they know they'll never see each other again, at least on this physical plane, but their love has been expressed and will be treasured for eternity.
One of those Films that was critical acclaimed by audiences and critics that I just struggled to understand, I really wanted to love it as I love The Virgin Suicides but just left me with a bad taste. Maybe it's the whole main character bitching and moaning while living up a nice rich life doesn't really connect, taking shots at a far better directer in Spike Jonze was a bitchy move. Don't think it's a bad film or anything but when some put it as one of the best film's of 00's and stuff I find it sitting uncomfortable for me.
Bill Murray and the Soundtrack and some beautiful cinematography are reasons to watch this. Scarlett Johnansson is good but nothing really award worthy but it's the type of performance that will make a star of a young actress. Sofia Coppola, I like her work but a lot of it's flawed and I thought Somewhere and The Bling Ring were two meh films. But The Virgin Suicides is her best work for me.
It's boring as hell. Don't know why some critics say it has some "humor" in it.
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