Fell flat

I loved both Olivia Wilde and Jennifer Garner in this movie, but I think its main problem is that of tone.

When the movie is a satire of middle-America, it's very funny.

But, often it goes for uplifting. Uplifting and satire don't work well together.

Generally, the men play it very straight (except for Hugh Jackman), and the women (except for
Yara Shahidi) get to be funny. So you get the feeling that the people playing it funny are in a different movie from the people playing it straight.

I'd still recommend it, despite these problems.

Laurie Mann
http://www.dpsinfo.com

I agree, I was anticipating this for a while after reading the script which I loved, and even though it didn't seem like much changed, a lot of the humor and tone didn't come across on screen and the characters weren't as memorable. I think a lot has to do with the direction and editing... The pacing felt very rushed at times, and the shifts between Laura and Destiny narrating were horribly done.

agreed. but i don't think it was Garner's fault. i think it was poor writing. Garner's character had to do a LOT of the work without much support. they didn't fill-out Olivia Wilder's character or that little girl's dad.

to me this felt like an inside joke that was not successfully translated into a film. super disappointed actually, because previews were funny.

Yeah. It was a very shallow story. No substantial moral and it all stayed within a couple locations. The actors made it interesting enough to watch, but the story conveyed was pretty pointless.

Poorly handled from the start. Way too on-the-nose for satire. Not substantial, relatable or funny enough for anything else.

Ditto. I expected more -- plot-wise and comedy-wise.

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