Bad dialogue. Bad acting. Bad editing. Bad everything?

The film is structured as being a road movie

So what Library of Congress candidates have you directed? No? Thought so.

Watta ya lookn here for?

Wonderful scenery.

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i totally agree with the review. This movie is TERRIBLE, unwieldy, meandering, pointless, and full of awful dialogue, poorly constructed scenes. Just garbage. But I'm supposed to feel guilty for not liking it because its directed by Alexander Payne. I wish I had my $12 and 2 hours back. I'd rather spend it rubbing my junk up against a cactus.

1. Besides, the father and his daughters, the family doesn't grow closer together. Perhaps you are referring to just them, but he still doesn't get along with his father in law and his cousin threaten to sue him for not signing the contract. Actually, he seemed distant from his cousins and, by the end of the film, there looked to be no change in that. In the beginning, Matt said that he was going to become a better father and we saw him trying as the movie progressed. He didn't have a bad relationship with the youngest, she was acting out her emotions because of the circumstance. I don't think his eldest hated him either. She seemed to be rebelling and bratty, but I didn't detect any hate from him, but she actually hated her mother. If she hated her dad, there wouldn't be any reason for her to be upset about her mother's infidelity, debating on telling him, and eventually wanting to tag along on his trips. Not only that, she pointed out to him that he didn't show up to her play, which means that it did matter to her if he was there out not. Their relationship wasn't perfect, but the daughter didn't hate him.

2. Well, I didn't find the comedy in the boyfriend, but I think he was there as support for the oldest daughter. And to show that people cope differently. The boyfriend took her mind off of what was happening by just being there even though they didn't specifically talk about her issues. I think he was also to show that we all go through something even if it's not apparent.

3. If you didn't understand the outburst, I don't think you should be giving reviews on movies such as this. She wasn't crying over the woman she never met, she was crying because that woman could've broken up her marriage. Julie needed closure about her husband's infidelity. She wasn't really forgiving her, but she had trouble hating her since the wife was dying. The wife represented the lies and secrets in her marriage that Julie couldn't just avoid like her husband tried to. And just because her husband didn't want to visit because he didn't love the other woman, doesn't mean his actions were out of sight, out of mind. Julie was confronting the problem head on, so she could move on.

4. I don't see how it was bad. The little girl was processing what was going on and was completely shocked. She was told and thought that her mother was coming about, but really she was going to die in a few days.

"And even with Will dead, the love triangle is not over."

Your harshness and immature conclusions make it difficult to take you seriously. Of course, everyone has opinions. So do you. I think it wasn't so cliched, it was a sincere attempt to show how broken families mend themselves in the worst of tragic situations. There was an honesty in the story telling and character sketches from start to finish. FYI, Julie could have been crying for her distraught marriage, or she must have come down all the way to find relief in sharing with the other affected party in the betrayal. She cried, because she probably could empathise with the situation as a human being (having seen what Matt did (ie, came back without telling her about the affair)) So I thought it was quite human to do that. Maybe you are/live in a society without such sentiments. Jeez, such dramaqueen! :)

You do know that all the things you said were bad, were nominated for an Academy Award that year?