Good Time Max

The movie is about two brothers that are supposed to be alike - but are not in any way expect for being smart - one is a surgeon and they other is able to write a computer code. Geniuses as they like to call themselves which sounds very exaggerated if you compare it to personal characteristics can you perceive from the material of the title.

I honestly didn't like the style of the movie. I believe that anxiety, confusion and deep blues it brings are there for a purpose, but what I don't get is why there is so much of it. The movie is cheap on scenes and tells the story basically with no human aspect in it at all. It gives the comic book like experience. However it's visually numbing the viewer, it somehow brings him inside the blues with brief dialogs, monotonic scenes, dynamic cut, music and abrupt noises.

The movie's storyline is very simple, most of what's going on is being dramatically pictured for long minutes, mostly in confusing delirium simulating effects of drug use and dynamic cuts.

I will say openly that this movie didn't meet my expetations a tiny bit.

You gather the plot: Two brothers, one studious decent and hardworking, the smarter one being a rebel etc etc. From the various movies throughout the decades this Cain & Abel-ish by-play has been done over and over again. (James Dean, Brad Pitt are two actors that spring to mind). This movie has none of the complexity or character development of East of Eden or A River Runs Through It or Legends of the Fall and it is infinitely more forgettable.

I see the various points the movie is trying to make and yes, it does make you stop and think about how pointless life can be and the merits of hard work and the merits and disadvantages of various drugs, but ultimately why bother ?

The movie is a teensy bit poignant, somewhat artsy, the character acting is good and the movie manages to convey a seedy, life through a Handycam feel. I was vaguely bored throughout with this character study, wondering if anything would happen and after a fashion maybe it did maybe it didn't (I wouldn't want to add a spoiler!), but really - who cares ?

There are far better movies around in hundreds of different genres, I feel like I wasted the evening. If I were to use a single word to review this movie, I would choose the word 'dull'.

You may like it, but I found it rather boring from start to finish.

Twin brothers, they're BOTH doctors in Dead Ringers though. One is a bit of a rebel, addicted to drugs, the other one just wants to be a doctor and go about his day. Then the gentler twin becomes addicted to drugs, they both go crazy, weird surgeries happen, the end. I haven't seen this movie, but from the plot summaries I've read this sounds pretty damn spot on. Do they both fall in love with the same woman in this movie too? Then that'd be THREE, count em THREE movies I know of where twin brothers fall in love with the same woman. It's an interesting idea for sure, but come on. Did both of the twins in Twin Fall Idaho love the girl? I don't remember now. They were Siamese twins anyway.

Really the tale of two cocky brothers and their respective falls from grace (via drug addiction) and later redemption. One brother, a self-proclaimed genius played by James Franco is your typical sensitive but intelligent man-child. The other brother is a hard-working future doctor who becomes less judgmental as he himself falls prey to addiction while dealing with the stress of living up to his family's expectations for both children. Not too heavy handed as drug fables are want to be, and all in all a pretty realistic sketch of the family dynamics that drug problems bring about. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in such character studies and commend James Franco for his efforts in what was obviously a labor of love.

Good Time Max (James Franco) reminds me a lot of myself; we both play the boisterous younger brother, thirsty for reckless living, wasting honest resources on temporal thrills and instant pleasure, easily distracted. Life is, of course, just one great big party! Right? However, Max and I also relate to the difficulty of coping with the folly of excessive living. We know hard times, family drama, and often times are out of money. We deal with the guilt and awkwardness of the lesson(s) learned and many times vow never again to be such a childish adult. We both know addiction and sobriety, which means that we also know how it feels to relapse and follow through with the entire cycle, the drama and so forth, once again.

My oldest brother, now a doctor of microbiology, once thought that I was smarter than him because he never saw me do homework or study as a kid.

Making personal choices today will inevitably, inadvertently and incidentally affect ones immediate future, yet many times yielding unfavourable results. In other words: choose wisely.

Great low-budget, independent project, indeed! Viewing the practical next-door characters in an authentic & emotionally moving script is considered good time spent for this dramedy gem.