, Constantine
or the un-obvious Matrix
series for example) but for some reason the description just lead me to believe that there were other movies in my queue that would be better to watch at any given time. Oh how I am sorry I did not watch this sooner. For tonight's movie Answer Man, I am giving it a very solid 4 star rating. In all actuality, it came damn close to a 5 star rating, however I was slightly disappointed in the ending. Tonight I will be rating on acting combined with casting, storyline/script and enjoyability.***Spoilers below***
Let us describe the movie briefly before we dive into the review. I was not aware from the movie's description, but there is a whole lot of religious context throughout. Arlen is a washed up writer that is afraid to go out into the world. He has one of the most popular religious self help books of all time, God and Me. He is a wreck in his home life. He is rude, short tempered and fed up with everything. In the beginning we find him sprawled out on his floor because he neglects himself so much that his back goes out again and he is not able to get up. Everyone that knows him, which is very few, are so fed up with him that they are unwilling to help. The next morning, after sleeping on the floor, he is able to crawl down the street to the chiropractor, which is when we are introduced to Elizabeth, acted by Lauren Graham. The movie plays out on a typical script; ie. girl and guy like eachother, girl and guy fight and break up, girl and guy get back together in the end. It is the journey that is incredible in this story.
Acting pushes a 5 star rating. I have always liked Jeff Daniels, and have been disappointed that he has not been cast in more films. I loved him in films such as Traitor
, RV 
and the older Fly Away Home
. His acting, once again was superb. His ability to play many different roles culminates in Answer Man as he is playing Arlen who is a touch unstable and very emotional. He is able to be rude and a jerk, switch gears and be sweet and sincere, and be blunt and truthful throughout. He had some of the best lines in the movie while he was talking to the bookstore owner. I have two of them to use as examples because I liked this part of the movie so much.Kris: Why can't I do the things I want to do?
Arlen: What you need to realize is your always doing what you want to do, always. Nobody is making you do anything. Once you get that you realize you are free and life is just a series of choices. Nothing happens to you, you choose.
Kris: If god made everything, then why are some things bad?
Arlen: Opposites. With out things that suck you would have no idea what good is. Directional less. You smell shit and you walk the other way.
He responds right off the hip, straight faced and serious. and then slams the door on Kris. This had to be one of the best scenes in the film.
Elizabeth, Kris, Anne and Terry were exceptional acted as well. The movie felt like a big budget blockbuster with A-list actors and actresses. Everyone clicked together, and you really felt as if the interactions and relationships on screen were real. Emotions were well acted and did not come off as fake. The only acting I did not think was good was Kris's assistant at the bookstore acted by Kat Dennings. She had no facial expressions, and her lines just seemed as if they were recited straight off of the script. I felt that her character could have been better cast.
I have already touched a bit on storyline/script with Arlen and Kris's conversation in my favorite scene. The entire movie was as well scripted as this scene. Even though it was a typical guy/girl love story I felt as if it was in fact very different at the same time. The movie had so many different things happening at once, but they were all interacting and melded perfectly. Each person had their own screwed up issues, and they were all trying to deal with them in their own ways. The other cool thing is they all had similar issues. They were all trying to help each other, when in fact they could not even help themselves. The only part of the story I did not like was how they wrote the ending. Yes we all knew they would get back together and all would be well in the end, but I was not a fan of Arlen chasing Elizabeth down the street and progressing into a self-pitty speech while she stood there and looked at him. They started over and re-introduced each other and then the movie was over.
Now that you know most of the movie, lets touch on enjoyability. I have not enjoyed a movie this well in a while. The whole time I was just in awe of some of the concepts that were touched on in here. The issues dealing with self healing and self pitty were just amazing. With the hope of not being offensive to anyone, I liked how they hinted that in the opinions of the characters God is whatever you need him to be in your life. He is not real, not fake, not anything except exactly what you need him to be to get you through the things you are dealing with. I was glad that they did not push God is God is God, he is real and there is no doubt. That right there is the reason I usually shy away from spiritual and religious movies.
All in all, the only things that were not exceptional in this film were one cast member, and the ending. Without those two drawbacks it very well could have received a 5 star rating (which does not happen very often from me). If you have not seen this film, let alone heard of it which I assume most of you have not, you NEED to watch it. It is fresh and eye opening, bold and forward, yet down to earth and relevant. As always, Please leave comments, become a follower of my blog above and share to your favorite social networking site below. Ciao for now, and see you for the next review!
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