Sleeping With Other People was the fifth movie that I saw over 48 hours. The others were The Finest Hours, Anomalisa, 45 Years, and Love & Mercy. While The Finest Hours was entertaining and was an excellent movie to see on the big screen in 3D, the only movie of the five that I enjoyed was Love & Mercy. As much as I disliked most of Anomalisa and 45 Years, the worst of the five movies was Sleeping With Other People. I am a big of Jason Sudeikis (We’re the Millers, Hall Pass). I liked him a lot on Saturday Night Live and thought that he had a fantastic start to his movie career, and sometimes he can make you laugh out loud with his humor. I think, at least for now, he needs to stick to strictly doing “funny” comedies. Sleeping With Other People was a comedy that was not funny and played like a dramedy more than any of the other movies of Sudeikis that I am familiar with. Likewise, this has also been classified as a romance, which I find to be sad and a discredit to the genre as a whole. I kind of hated the premise of this movie and felt that it was tough for me to relate to, either on a personal level or how I observe those close to me. Perhaps this is the lifestyle for many people, but I don’t see it in my life. I didn’t know if I was supposed to take this movie seriously or if this was just supposed to be a fun 90 minutes. In either case, it failed. I neither enjoyed myself nor even laughed one time.
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Category Archives: Amanda Peet
Something’s Gotta Give (2003)
Romantic comedies are very rarely my thing. I often try to avoid them like the plague. There are, of course, some exceptions to the rule. If it’s a Rated-R raunchy romantic comedy like The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, There’s Something About Mary, etc. I’m in. But those movies have become their brand. Before 1997, you didn’t see movies like this made. I’m talking about the PG or PG-13 romantic comedies. I like Notting Hill, Garden State, and, of course, Groundhog Day. And I think movies like My Best Friend’s Wedding, Hitch, High Fidelity, etc. are serviceable. With Something’s Gotta Give, the film sought me out rather than vice versa. Somehow when I clicked the like button on Netflix, a list of other movies came up, and I guess I clicked on the picture of the film and added it to my list. I don’t remember doing this. So when it arrived and I ripped open the envelope with excitement, a “What the f*** is this?” comment and a look of befuddlement was an understatement. So there it sat next to my television for a couple of weeks. In the back of my mind, I knew I would give it a chance. It did earn high marks on Rotten Tomatoes, and it did have a star-studded cast. It would have a short rope, but it would get a chance. I’m glad I did. It was far from a great movie, but, despite some severe flaws, it was entertaining enough to recommend a watch. With that said, this movie is a one-and-done for me. I won’t ever watch it again. One of the reasons I do this blog is so that I can remember the movies I watch. It is much easier to read a five-minute summary.
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What Doesn’t Kill You (2008)
According to the website www.boxofficemojo.com, the Mark Ruffalo/Ethan Hawke crime drama earned just $44,872 in the theaters. Even if both its two lead stars plus the talented Amanda Peet (Identity, The Whole Nine Yards) agreed to work for free, this movie still did not come close to earning back what it cost to produce. Usually, when you’ve never heard of a film, especially one in which both its lead stars have each been nominated for an Academy Award before you see it on DVD, it’s because the movie stunk. Most of those involved with the film would rather it go unnoticed. This is probably accurate 90% of the time. What Doesn’t Kill You falls into that other 10%. The story isn’t new. We’ve seen the same story played out hundreds of times on the screen (including even a couple of movies involving Ethan Hawke that fall along those lines). There was nothing that particularly stood out in terms of the plot. Sure, the fact that it was based on a true story strengthens its cause. But still, the old man involved with crime and drugs, trying to turn around his life for his family, but struggling to do so is nothing new. So how does this movie break through that threshold and be one of those movies you remember? It was the acting.
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