MovieChat Forums > The Descendants (2011) Discussion > Did anyone else think this was just plai...

Did anyone else think this was just plain terrible?

posted 13 years ago by Boing_Boing
149 replies | jump to latest

-Awful narration and dialogue
-The plot was overflowing with cliches
-Most of the characters were simply stereotypes
-The story had absolutely no direction (the whole bit about the land had absolutely nothing to do with the plot about the wife)
-The "humor" was just plain shock value. This wasn't a dramedy; it was a drama with cussing and violence that I was apparently supposed to laugh at.

I could go into more detail, but really, I just want to know if other people also thought it was terrible. I think this is easily the worst movie I've seen this year (and I watched No Strings Attached and Gnomeo And Juliet). (EDIT: I just watched Thor. Thus, my last comment is no longer valid.) I saw this with two other friends, and when we left the theater, before I told them what I thought, I asked them what they thought, and they both said it was really bad.

How this has a higher rating on Rotten Tomatoes than The Help, Beginners, Jane Eyre, Barney's Version, etc. is beyond me.

[–] leonavid-3 13 years ago

[–] HappyValentineDay 13 years ago

This movie will not stay with me. That is how I rate a movie.

[–] federeragassi 13 years ago

It was a good movie, but compared to Sideways and About Schmidt, it was a disappointment.

[–] scottstrohkirch-577-3343 13 years ago

I didn't see this as a comedy at all. There were some small attempts at humor, but they were poor attempts which if you did laugh you felt guilty for doing so. I had a problem with the Father figure portrayed by Clooney. Clooney is too much of a self-assured confident type to have played this role. He self-righteous indignation that his wife had an affair and was going to divorce him was about the only emotion that he displayed even half-way.

I think this film should get the raspberry award for allowing this movie to drag on for 2 hours when they could have done it all in an hour with commercials on TV (though it still would have been bad)

[–] Jman1483 13 years ago

The comic relief aspect of the boyfriend killed it for me; it was too much, though his character fell into place towards the latter half.

Officer, I saw the driver who hit me. His name was Johnny Walker

[–] reyaanshah 13 years ago

I loved it, probably because it tied in a lot with my own life. Anyone young person who lives in a four person family needs to see this movie. I did, and what I got in return was a greater appreciation for family itself. After I left the theatre, I thought twice about the things I said to my parents and sister.

That being said, this movie had some pretty prominent flaws. For example, the whole thing about the land and the transaction tied in with his wife's coma, but it doesn't mix all too well, and it seems kind of forced. Also, the elder daughter transitions from naughty to nice way to quickly, and the whole thing at the beginning of the movie about her drug use and stuff never comes back into the picture.

The thing I did like about it was that by the end of the movie, each and every character grows up out of their problems, and learns to appreciate the greater in life and family, which makes the viewer feel really good.

The answer to your life ----> http://bit.ly/fTyGEP

[–] MillionMonkeys 13 years ago

There are a whole bunch of flicks out there that are terrible, stupid, cheap, cheesy, asinine, commercial, Hollywood, lowest-denominator, etc.

In comparison, this IS a watchable movie with enough positives worthy of attention, and enough flaws to deserve all the critical remarks. It's not so bad.

[–] pascwall 13 years ago

I don't know....I didn't think it was that bad. I actually walked out towards the end (snuck into it anyway); the movie just wasn't doing it for me. I thought it was really dry, but it wasn't awful.

[–] whitelion43 13 years ago

Atkas I DID watch the movie. After reading this thread now I see things that was not as clear as they could have been in a film. I do like the ocassional action movie, But I perfer sci Fi and fantasy movies that explore deep themes like "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and Anime like Akira and Grave of The FireFlies
Grave of the Fireflies like this film shows the effects of Death on a small family and tells you at the beginnig how it ends. Unlike this Film Grave Involves you in the Characters and still shows the Complexity of Human behavoir. Maybe whoever made this film could take a lesson from Studio Ghibli on film making
Oh GOOD!,my dog found the chainsaw

[–] sweetheart_509 13 years ago

Yes, I hated this movie. It was boring and I didn't like the characters.