The Late Bloomer

Okay, so here's the thing -- I watched this film over a week ago, and I'm still thinking about it. Why? Because I get riled up over films that are SO CLOSE to being good, but just... aren't.

The Late Bloomer definitely falls into this category. There are bits of dialogue and interactions between characters which are genuinely top-notch comedy, and the supporting cast put in one of the best ensemble performances I've seen in ages. Seriously. Kumail Nanjiani in particular is fantastic, and J.K. Simmons continues to be the best supporting actor in Hollywood right now.

Buuuuuut... there are six writing credits listed, and it's likely that therein lies the problem. The moments of brilliance are almost completely overshadowed by other bits of writing which are, at best, trite, and at worst completely cringe-worthy. The last twenty minutes or so of the film legitimately don't even make sense, and are among the worst I've seen all year. It really feels like something that was cobbled together from different people who had different ideas of what the film should be, and maybe some of those people were... incorrect.

So yeah, I wish this film was as good as it could have been. A lot of inspired performances and great dialogue that deserved better than what this ends up being.

This film is okay for adults but no children please. Not really my cup of tea but some really liked it.

I turned into this because it seemed like a good premise and there were like 500 stars in this thing. I was a bit confused by the start of this movie. We are introduced to Peter Newmans, a therapist. For me though, this part went on wayyyy too long. But it is to establish that Peter has no sexual desires and, due to that, a very successful life as a sex addiction therapist. Eventually at about the half way point Peter is hurt and goes to the ER and during the examination it comes to light that he has a tumor on his pituitary gland and has not "matured" properly. I have a bit of a problem buying that this was never discovered by a doctor before this or brought to the doctor's attention. After removal of his tumor puberty decends on Peter and his perfect asexual life - confusing and upsetting just about everyone. The second half of this movie is played for crass laughs - when it should have been played for heartfelt humor about what would happen to a 30 year old entering puberty. I thought everyone tried and there was good talent, but it was the script and writing.

I came on here before watching The Late Bloomer and came across mostly negative comments but went ahead and thought id watch the film as i thought it has comedy potential. I am glad i watched it as i did laugh a couple of times and thought the actors were very well played. the plot was interesting as its not something ordinary. In my opinion this is a funny, quirky film.

The Late Bloomer made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion. Maybe that's because I'm spectacularly childish being as all the humour was of the awkward sexual kind. I don't care, I loved it! I'm surprised by the negative reviews... Maybe I just have a penchant for pre-pubescent 30 year old's because I actually found myself having a crush on Johnny Simmons which made his angsty teenage strops particularly amusing to me. Loved his parents characters, loved his two sidekicks. Didn't find his love interest particularly appealing. But this is a comedy and to me it totally served it's purpose and kept me entertained and amused throughout.