Leonard Maltin's Rating :
Should be :
IMDB Rating : 7.1
Rotten Tomatoes Rating : 71% with Audience, 83% with the Critics
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus : Thirteen Conversations About one Thing is an intelligent and poignant look at lives intersecting.
In his review Leonard says: "Intelligent and interesting, but not as profound as it thinks it is."
I somehow missed this movie (probably because of the 2 1/2 stars Leonard gave it in his review), but I am glad I saw it today.
A great cast that includes Matthew McConaughey, Alan Arkin, and John Turturro.
The movie is about a characters wandering on and off screen trying to figure out what happiness is, and how they can achieve it. In his 4 star review Roger Ebert said:
The truth hidden below the surface of the story is a hard one: Nothing makes any sense. We do not get what we deserve. If we are lucky, we get more. If we are unlucky, we get less. Bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. That's the system. All of our philosophies are a futile attempt to explain it.Gene (Alan Arkin) isn't a happy person, and he can't believe any one else can truly be happy either. He is divorced and his son is giving him a run for his money. There is a guy in the office Wade, who always has a smile on his face and always looks at the bright side of life. When told to watch expenses in his department, he decides to fire Wade. But rather than being miserable, Wade keeps his upbeat ways.
Not an upbeat movie, but I think it is a very honest, intelligent and intelligent movie. I think Leonard's quote "Intelligent and interesting, but not as profound as it thinks it is", does a disservice to filmmakers who take chances. Why try to make anything intelligent or different?
The ultimate question that the film is asking is "Would you rather live your life like Gene or like Wade?" I think we all need to be reminded once in a while to look on the bright side of life.
A really good movie, that is well worth seeing.
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