This movie was good and cute. Nothing great by far; but for a directorial debut the motions are gone through and it works. Like other comments mention there is a lot left to be desired.
Strong points: The soundtrack? Phenomenal. I see little to no one mentioning it and it's worth mentioning. Lots of classics, cool mellow tunes that go with the movie's flow and I couldn't help notice every time one came on I felt a great sense of like they knew what they were doing. (My dad loved The Cars.)
Reese Witherspoon is of course a treat to be delighted in. She claims her scenes with ease. Zoe Chao as Minka was the comedic relief the movie needed to break it's ice for me, however. She is HILARIOUS. I love the character, love the actress and her portrayal. It's all too much. "I smell dead people..." *dies laughing* Every time she came on screen I smiled.
The downsides: The movie has a very meandering pace. There's a lot of content with not really much to say. Nothing big really goes on. Like I said it all just going through the motions even if it does it well. It's all a character development and how they play off each other. Steve Zahn and Ashton Kutcher don't bring as much as they could but I guess their characters are slightly less under written.
If Minka starred in her own movie I would definitely watch it. That's how much I loved her.
Anyway, a very soft thumbs up. 6/10 stars. I don't think I'll revisit again if only for the comedy of Zoë Chao and her use of the character Minka, but "like my drunk mother used to say, mind your own business..."
Strong points: The soundtrack? Phenomenal. I see little to no one mentioning it and it's worth mentioning. Lots of classics, cool mellow tunes that go with the movie's flow and I couldn't help notice every time one came on I felt a great sense of like they knew what they were doing. (My dad loved The Cars.)
Reese Witherspoon is of course a treat to be delighted in. She claims her scenes with ease. Zoe Chao as Minka was the comedic relief the movie needed to break it's ice for me, however. She is HILARIOUS. I love the character, love the actress and her portrayal. It's all too much. "I smell dead people..." *dies laughing* Every time she came on screen I smiled.
The downsides: The movie has a very meandering pace. There's a lot of content with not really much to say. Nothing big really goes on. Like I said it all just going through the motions even if it does it well. It's all a character development and how they play off each other. Steve Zahn and Ashton Kutcher don't bring as much as they could but I guess their characters are slightly less under written.
If Minka starred in her own movie I would definitely watch it. That's how much I loved her.
Anyway, a very soft thumbs up. 6/10 stars. I don't think I'll revisit again if only for the comedy of Zoë Chao and her use of the character Minka, but "like my drunk mother used to say, mind your own business..."