MovieChat Forums > Esterhowse > Replies
Esterhowse's Replies
> We were both Dungeons & Dragons nerds and outcasts back then, but the guy is now a neurotic, fragile mess of a pothead, unemployed, lives with roommates, is into all these weird fringe-geek activities, whines all the time about his plight, and just is, in general, a shambolic wreck. He's in his 40s and he's still living the life of someone in their early 20s with absolutely no direction or motivation.
Why would you want to deal with that?
> Am I being a jerk?
No.
> Would you friend this guy if you were in my shoes?
Hell no. Why would you want that mess in your life.
Poor Ron?
Look at his filmography. He does way more crap than quality.
I don't know the mechanics of this board yet so I don't know how to obscure spoilers so read at your own peril.
From a technical perspective the movie is very competently made. As it is directed by Ron Howard that goes without saying. He has decades of experience. Also as this is a biopic you would think that Howard would do great as biopics and historical fiction is really what he does best. Holy shit was this a dud of a movie.
On the acting:
- The Lead Actor has all the on screen presence of a block of wood. It is mind boggling that Howard cast that actor for that role.
- Amy Adams was a too over the top too many times. She was just unbelievable.
- Glen Close was incredible.
The primary dramatic tension of the story is a Princeton Law Student jeopardizing a chance for a lucrative summer intern to deal with his mother's latest drug rehab problems. Which is a head scratcher. What are we supposed to care about there? That he might not get the internship or that his mothers bullshit is fucking him over...AGAIN. The whole movie is centered on his mother fucking over her life and throwing the lead characters life into turmoil because of her drug addiction.
Drug addiction is a terrible thing and drug addicts abuse and destroy everything they touch.
Are we really supposed to enjoy watching the lead victimize himself for his mothers bullshit..
And finally the title of the movie doesn't make any sense. It is called Hillbilly Elegy. The only Character who could be considered a hillbilly is the grandmother, played by Close. That character ran away from Appalachia at age 13 pregnant with the Amy Adams character.
The movie is not an ode to the virtues of being hillbilly at all. It is a movie about a dumb shit who allows his mother's bullshit to prevent him from getting to a job interview...