Not Bad but....
Written: Jan 13 '08
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Crowe and Scott reteaming, beautiful visuals, laidback film
Cons: Crowe is miscast and Scott is misdirecting, zero comic timing
The Bottom Line: A low key comedy that isn't as strong as it should be, but not as weak as it initially seems.
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| videodude's Full Review: A Good Year |
When it comes to comedy, I think the last thing any producer would think of is pairing Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe together for the genre. But alas, that happens with Crowe in a starring role and Scott in the director's chair again to make a fish out of water comedy. However, such a venture didn't yield such a great result when the comedy arrived with barely a whimper in theaters. Critically savaged, even corporate honcho Rupert Murdoch singled it out as a major flop for their company with losses at $20 million, despite the talent involved in getting it produced.
Does that mean it's midnight mass screening-worthy? No. It's actually a slightly amusing film but not one that will be remarkable in any way, shape and form. A Good Year has more flaws than it does perfections, and it's those flaws that prove it's undoing. Perhaps the most surprising element of it all is Russell Crowe, the last guy I'd ever expect in a comedy. Crowe the Oscar winner is the guy I remember from Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind and The Insider. He was that bada*s police officer in L.A. Confidential and a vicious skinhead in Romper Stomper. The other surprising element is it's Ridley Scott who gave us such visual feasts with insightful depth in Blade Runner, Alien, Thelma & Louise and his other two Crowe collaborations: Gladiator and American Gangster. When you look at all these films, does the genre "comedy" stick out from any of them? No. So despite the fact that you've got Crowe and Scott ready to make the film, why make it? Because you've got Crowe and Scott making a movie. Unfortunately, that's not good enough reason to make a good enough movie.
The story follows an arrogant London banker (Crowe), essentially a son of a b*tch in expensive designer suits who happily derides his subordinates as minions. His uncle (Albert Finney) has passed away and stipulated in his will, that his nephew inherit the Provence property that the banker spent his wonderful summers on as a kid. Max Skinner (Crowe) sees dollar signs and goes to Provence to check everything out. Therefore, there is the plot of A Good Year, which I won't say much else but it does become about one man's struggle to either maintain the comfy life he has made for himself as a hardened bastard capable of doing rotten things or choosing a lifestyle that's the total opposite. I saw this in a movie called The Family Man with Nicolas Cage, it's a familiar plotline that we've seen in plenty of other movies but with different faces. Crowe just happens to be one of them.
A Good Year has it's share of visuals. You can rely on Scott for anything else, provided spectacular shots that look absolutely fantastic. Even when he does terrible movies like Hannibal or Black Rain, they look really good but the film still sucks. A Good Year isn't like the two aforementioned movies, but it suffers from it's own internal flaws. Crowe the ever good actor, just doesn't have what it takes. I admire Crowe as an actor but despite how hard he tries to be funny, it just doesn't work. Crowe's character is an essential fish out of water and he tries to play a character who has to come out of their shell. But even when doing that, it doesn't serve him right except to maybe play a straight man with more quirks than they realized. Not helping the situation is Scott, who doesn't really have a sense of good comic timing. Skinner is really the solo man of the show, despite his co-stars. But none of them provide the chemistry a comedy that the leading man needs with a co-star to be really funny. Plus, when you've got an actor primarily known for dramatic roles, it only gets harder when they're trying to act and be funny at the same time, but fully accomplish the first objective but half heartedly pull off the second one.
That being said, A Good Year does have it's charms. I like the fact that it's a small little movie that takes place in Provence. I like some of the situations that Max finds himself in and how he adjusts to this new life. Watching this character have to take on a new lifestyle is relatively amusing when they're taken out of their environment, such as Max Skinner. Like I said, A Good Year isn't a movie completely full of nothing but flaws. There's a certain kind of small charm to it that's to be enjoyed. Is it a laidback film? Yes and that's why I found it a little more interesting than initially viewing it.
A Good Year isn't a bad movie but it's not a must see movie. There are a lot of other movies out there. For those who love Ridley Scott or Russell Crowe, they might enjoy it. But they shouldn't expect it to be like their last few films. A Good Year is anything but that, aiming for a low key comedy about a fish out of water, instead of a big budget epic.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Feel-good Movie
Viewing Method: Studio Screening/Premiere
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Pacing
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Epinions.com ID:
videodude
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 in Hotels & Travel |
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Location: South Shore Massachusetts
Reviews written: 477
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