The Talent Given Us

I wish I could change my star-rating to 4.

I agree: All this praise of Wagner's film seems unwarranted. I was rather disappointed with it. My husband and I had the same reaction, immediately after viewing it: It seems to need more art, more fiction. It is indeed strange that somehow the daughters (apparently professional actresses) seem more "real" than their parents... or is it? Yes, I can hear the filmmaker and his fans saying that's just because this post-modern culture has conditioned us to see the fake as real, and vice-versa. But no matter; I found myself rather appalled and disgusted, during much of the film, and barely engaged.

There's a whole lotta pathos going on, that's for sure. I wonder about the "comedy" label.

I suppose the ending is supposed to be some kind of zen/enlightenment thing, but in my opinion it just fell flat. (I'm not sure if that qualifies as a spoiler, but I just wanted to play it safe.)

If you were born and raised in the tristate area NY/NJ/CT and you are not Jewish, you'll find this movie equivalent to a case of hives! The loud, brash, self-centered nature of each of these individuals is beyond belief. If they are a slice of America, it is no wonder we are in debt to the Chinese and Indians and have lost total identity as a nation! This family is a family of infants in a crib (car) squabbling over who's got the gum. The rabid mother has steam rolled over everyone she ever met complaining as she stomped them to death. The daughters cannot believe they are not the queens of the world yet. They would masturbate in public to get attention. The father has spent his life wed to his business and paid the price with medical problems that have left him incontinent and unable to speak without a straw in his mouth. The son is a closet case living in LA who has no cellphone in order to become unreachable to the family arm which is constantly reaching for him. They endlessly bitch about not having enough of everything. They are thankful for nothing. If you like soulessness and despair, watch it. If you think being Jewish is funny, watch it. If you have a life, skip it.

I could not stop watching this odd little movie, even when I wanted to! The performances- or are they?- are all believable and painful and funny, just like the family. It is an odd mix of documentary and fiction, but compelling and fun and awful.

The plot is as simple as can be- a family drives across the country- but the characters are like none seen in films in a very long time. The father and mother, in particular, steal the show- they are hurting and raw and hungry and brutal and real. The daughters are actresses, so that's when it falls a little into clichés that I have seen before, but whenever it gets back to the two parents, I was entranced.

Director Andrew Wagner does a fantastic job, I'm very curious to see what he does with a film his family does not act in!

This film made me care for the characters right from the start. It has a healthy dose of reality, in places perhaps too stark for some in the audience. It gives some interesting insights into aging, whether it is the parents in their 70s or the daughter and her friend (?) in their 30s. Despite each of the parents aging differently and the wife being discontented with her husband, their love for each other comes through. The ups and downs of their relationship are only too real. The daughter's insecurities about her body image (and desire to go under the knife) faithfully reflects the way many young women feel and think. For those who think that the film doesn't really amount to anything and was not worth their while don't want this kind of reality. Because the characters are playing themselves with all their flaws and somewhat fractured lives. Many viewers want to get away from it all, for them this movie likely has little to offer. As for the comments made by arassweiler on this film, I don't buy into his/her assumption (or accusation) that most of the reviews here are done by "shills" who are likely friends of the film maker and have padded up IMDb reviews simply because they want the film to succeed. Neither do I get the thing about using parents to deflect real criticism. That is about the most meaningless comment anyone could have made about this film. It is definitely worth seeing. But if you are into a lot of Hollywood's over-produced or even well made celebrity/star laden films then this film is certainly not for you. The film is funny at times, and at times has an underlying tragic tenor. But it is a film where characters are human enough to confront their demons and limitations, overcoming some and failing at some. And I was definitely entertained by the film.

Barring my cautions for certain types of film-goers whom I described above I think this film is pretty much "must-see". Especially if you are not put off by too much reality depicting characters who are imperfect in every way, but are perfectly human.

I am more and more disappointed by the quality of 'independent films' that appear ever more often on Sundance Channel (where I saw this film), and IFC, and with the honesty of reviews found on this website.

As far as Sundance and IFC go - I simply have to assume that ever since the 'independent' genre made it big, finding quality programming that draws an audience without having to pay great sums must be becoming increasingly difficult.

As far as the reviews on this website go I feel that films, especially small films like this, are reviewed favorably primarily because of shills. Maybe they are friends of the filmmaker, and family members, etc. And you know, if I were a filmmaker, I would certainly enlist those I know to do the same.

The truth is this film is pretty bad, and pretty unwatchable, and if I cast my mom and dad in a movie (and they are in many ways like the couple in the film), my film would undoubtedly be pretty bad too. But you see - I would never take my home movies to Sundance, and pitch them shamelessly to further my career (or lack thereof).

I feel sorry for Andrew's parents - who probably just want to see their son succeed in this business - but their acting was awful - although 'realistic', to be sure.

In fact the 'professional actors (there are very few people in reality who are)' in this film, oddly, seemed 'more real' than the director/writer's real parents. But somehow at some level I think that the director may have chosen his parents as his 'human shield' against criticism of this film.

But it's not just bad acting, it's bad editing, and I guess, my inability to suspend disbelief at everything happening in this film that ruins this film.

The bottom line - a bad film that ends up, inexplicably on Sundance, because it probably cost them little to nothing to get it, and well, the director gets the visibility.

Someone needs to set this film straight for other users.