MovieChat Forums > Frances Ha (2013) Discussion > 'Francis Ha' Is Nothing To Laugh About

'Francis Ha' Is Nothing To Laugh About

posted 12 years ago by kiss_trigger-570-471334
46 replies | jump to latest

Baumbach is a scourge and a plague... a fifth rate bargain basement
Woody Allen wannabee whose "Greenberg", "Margot At The Wedding" and
"The Squid and The Whale" were such cinematic atrocities that even the
empty seats wanted their money back. You could take the worst Hollywood
Z movie schlock that ever played in a old fleapit drive-in and it would
have more memorable impact that even one second of any of these
lethally pretentious, Vassar-infected,hipster-conservative,literati-tainted wankfest-pieces of dysfunctional bourgeois sludge. It's as if Ed Wood came back from the dead with a Criterion DVD collection and an issue of The New Yorker tucked under his arm. Gerwig's "quirky girl" act is so way past it's sell-by date that you want to spray the screen with Raid. He gives Ben Stiller work,
which has already guaranteed him a loveseat in hell.

No wonder the masses watch comic books.

[–] trippplethreat333 12 years ago

Just because you use "big words" doesn't make you smart. You obviously have no idea what you are even talking about, and you're just stringing together words and vague ideas with invisible string. In both of reviews, you're talking up and making no real points.

[–] usernumber655321 12 years ago

Hilarious initial post here. I can't say I agree whole-heartedly with the op, but this movie does deserve to be made fun of. I think if my 12 year old nephew filmed poop sliding down a wall for 80 minutes, just so long as it was in 'black and white' he may be hailed as a genius by 70% of today's 'important' film critics. Actually, I think that French dude won an Oscar for doing just that a year or two ago when he made "THe Artist".

[–] Gwasgray 12 years ago

When Woody Allen first came along, some people probably moaned about him (not that Baumbach is necessarily the new Woody Allen)

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] JyLx 12 years ago

So I watched this film with a sceptical attitude, prepared to not like it, but it actually totally won me over. From watching the trailer, I thought Gerwig's character might grate/annoy me a lot more than she did, and I really enjoyed the best friend character, and the portrayal of the deep yet messy friendship between them.

I despised Squid and the Whale, and tolerated Greenberg, but count me a sincere fan of Frances Ha.

[–] activista 12 years ago

@kiss_trigger-50-471334

I haven't seen this film yet, but,damn, your rant made me LMAO,for real! That was some really funny s*** you came up with! I was thinking about seeing it only because it's at some dollar show (that plays both mainstream and arthouse films.) And,yeah, your rant might describe some of these films----even though I love indie films (this was a good decade before they became not only the "in" thing to like, but also to make.) BTW, here's a review of this film you might like---check the comments, because some of them are really along the line of what you don't like about the director's work, and films like these in general:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/anthony/in-defense-of-frances-ha-why-middle-class-white-angst-is-angst-too

And I actually liked THE SQUID AND THE WHALE---first film I recall seeing Jesse Eisenberg in,with his odd-looking but cute self,and who I like seeing in anything now (just saw NOW YOU SEE ME,simply because I thought the premise alone was intriguing---it was kind of fun,too with all the sleight-of-hand magic tricks that keep you guessing.)

[–] EamesTheForger 12 years ago

I see what the OP is getting at, but I was more mildly irritated by the problems he has with it than I was genuinely enraged. He makes a point (and well delivered too), but I ended up liking the film overall.

[–] allen-conway-1 12 years ago

I didn't know there were people who watched comic books! Is this an American thing?

I loved the meaningless rant about Vassar infections, hipsters, and literati though. Pity it's let down by the dysfunctional bourgeois sludge - that's so last century.

[–] mmwnycny 11 years ago

Don't necessarily agree with you here (except about "The Squid and The Whale"), but you are funny. Very funny.

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