American Exit

Can't understand the negative reviews a gem of a movie in my opinion.

My wife and I scored this film an eight and recommend this movie.

Positives - Story, Acting Cinematography.

I find it very interesting that the number of people who loved (rated 10) this film is nearly equal to the number of those who hated it (rated 1). My first impression of this bizarre yet equal split is that odds are, this wide ocean of disagreement comes down to two sects: (a) those who enjoy Dane Cook's body of work, and (b) those who abhor it. Much has been written already about how nonchalantly those in and around Hollywood have cast him aside so quickly after he became so uber-popular seemingly overnight. Perhaps the shadow he began to cast over those far more senior to him was too much to bear for many in those circles. That appears to have spilled over to the general populace, as there is little "grey area" in the pro/con argument for/against Cook. Seldom has this phenomenon been seen in such an extreme and profound manner in the entertainment industry, but it is not uncommon for extremes to exist in the land of the vapid and pretentious.

I rated this movie a 7, as it was neither great nor dreadful. I genuinely enjoyed it, found myself pulling for the anti-hero and his son and became attached enough to the story line to hope for a different ending. That said, the story line is firm and borderline compelling - the acting solid but not over-the-top in either direction - the cinematics and scenery consistent if not a bit on the basic side. All in all, it's a story about the tragic nature of broken families, desperation for healing, redemption and ultimately...love. And also, worth watching. This is NOT a "1" movie - I feel the poll was stuffed by Cook's odd bunch of those bent on continuing to harm his name further.

All about the father & son getting to know each other a little. Dane Cook is very good in this.

He deserves to be given a lot of credit for solid acting dealing with a difficult subject matter in a sensitive way.

I was really hoping for something special with this as it has the wonderfully weird Udo Kier in it and I like Dane Cook and there is even an appearance from old timer John Savage but the film has such terrible writing that it goes nowhere even with all that acting talent.

They should have carried the journey further to Mexico and made more effort with some exciting scenes down Mexico way but instead it goes nowhere and ends on a dusty road. The script is about as dusty and barren as the road they end up on. I also did not like the photography with its yellow tone and poor panning shots, it made the film feel cramped and a bit depressing.

The action is very poorly orchestrated and the character interaction between father and son seems overly forced and unbelievable. The story seems as if it has been written and then re-written and still not right so they just decided to go with it and cross their fingers.

Everything about the film just says meh!

Levi Miller is a gifted young actor, so it's a shame to see him wasted here alongside the always mediocre Dane Cook in a clichéd, melodramatic father-son road trip crime caper. Also wasted is the always awesome Udo Kier, bringing a true sense of menace to his role as a shady black market art dealer. Clocking in at a mere 85 minutes, this sluggishly paced film still manages to make sitting through it feel like a long slog. For a better showcase of Miller's talents, check out Jasper Jones, and as for Kier, see My Own Private Idaho.