Just Add Water

Danny DeVito lends his presence to what is essentially minimalist entertainment. The acting and character development are totally acceptable, but the story is very simplistic, and is further weakened by unnecessary voice overs. There are moments of black comedy, romance, and action, but the film suffers from an identity crisis, because none of the above features are very strong, leaving "Just Add Water" with sort of a questionable genre. Marginally recommended for those who like isolated desert towns, with goofy characters. The closest similar movies I can think of would be "Sordid Lives" or "Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me" - MERK

In my opinion, this was a really good film. I particularly liked the way that "country folk" were depicted. The film showed the humorous elements of living in the country as well as a sweeter side of living in the country (living happily without the need for all kinds of material things).

I also liked the way that the love story was depicted. It was the ordinary moments that made their love grow to what it is.

The thing that initially interested me in this movie was that Jonah Hill and Justin Long are in it as well as Danny Devito. As I was watching the film I noticed that one of the characters also stars in "The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang" along with Justin Long in a very similar role. It might be another film for you to check out!

This movie was funny as hell! It's got a little bit of everything actually - good story, funny parts and bit of the emotional stuff. But mostly just a really well-written comedy that didn't always rely on the same freakin' jokes you see in every studio comedy these days. I swear they have a book of 9 jokes that they recycle in every new movie.

Don't know who Tracy Middendorf was before this but I'm definitely looking for her from now on... totally the beautiful girl from next door and she's great in this. DeVito has a cameo but is great as always...

This movie was funny as hell! It's got a little bit of everything actually - good story, funny parts and bit of the emotional stuff. But mostly just a really well-written comedy that didn't always rely on the same freakin' jokes you see in every studio comedy these days. I swear they have a book of 9 jokes that they recycle in every new movie.

Don't know who Tracy Middendorf was before this but I'm definitely looking for her from now on... totally the beautiful girl from next door and she's great in this. DeVito has a cameo but is great as always...

This is a quite enjoyable movie, well-made and pretty much an atmosphere piece, which is extremely formulaic (you'll know everything that's going to happen more than half-way through), but actually succeeds at being the sort of 'heart-warming' stuff that so many films market themselves as and fail at.

The humor is just offbeat enough to be particular, and I was actually quite happy to see that there were practically no pop culture references; this is significant, because for me, this means there's an actual story sustaining itself, rather than 'shout-outs' to the audience's immersion in contemporary culture.

And finally, perhaps most significantly: Jonah Hall, who I have disparaged in other posts, and whose acting I generally dislike, was actually quite good in this film. In other films, I've felt as if he was simply trying to imitate 'Cartman' from Southpark; there is a bit of that in this film, but Hall makes the role his own, and actually becomes a character you really care about, and feel Ray's pride and disappointment in. Perhaps Hall is developing as an actor, or perhaps this movie simply allowed him to do a better job.

This is a pretty nice 'date movie'. One of the only 'feel good' movies I've ever seen that wasn't saccharin and annoying.

Although back when the movie was made, some of them did not have that star power they had later (and some still) in their career. DeVito is well known of course, or was better known and he has a nice role in this. It's actually a slow burning comedy though, one where Danny does not have to "explode" or go all crazy or anything.

That also means, that some might not have the patience to actually sit through this one. There is good humor in this and it can be a fun watch, but it's not exactly laugh out loud material you're being served here. Not sure if comparisons would make this look better for some (especially to Juno as another reviewer remarked), but if you like small budget movies or find yourself to be a fan of most of the cast, you will have at least some fun watching this (it's more than decent overall)