Negocios Brillantes

I watched this movie in a sneak Preview, so I had no idea, what I had to expect from this. The title is not giving away too much, which I will respect, so if you want to read something about the story, read the summary here on this site.

The acting in this is really great, but some might have a problem with the pace of the movie. It moves along slowly and it's not "in your face" funny, but more a subtle kind of humor (most of the times). It's actually more a drama than a comedy. And Alan Arkin is exceptional as ever, even if he's not the main role here. With a few up and downs, this nice little film has a winning charm, that is worth a view.

I quite liked the film. I would watch Amy Adams stare at grass and Emily Blunt is always top notch. One thing that stuck out for me about the film was that it offers a look at real working-class people doing real work, and does so in a respectful manner. Rose tries to put a positive spin on her post-mortem cleanup work to gathered yuppies in an awkward social setting and is clearly defensive. But you can see her coming to value the work for the good it does. There is nothing wrong with adventure thrillers about high crimes and misdemeanors, about the far-too-well-to-do, and about easy lives, but it is heartening to see hard-scrabble work valued, not just as a barrier to be overcome but as a thing that has intrinsic value and that does real good. Rose and Nora take on work that the yuppie ladies would never dream of tackling, and do real good for real people. This is a film that does not dazzle us with fireworks or glitter, but it has heart. We like that.

Reviewed August 2010

Though you know how the story is going to turn out, it was made captivating by fantastic performances by ever too reliable Amy Adams and fast shining Emily Blunt.

I have seen references to Little Miss Sunshine by some of the critics, what's the relation? Checked the writer and director's past movies doesn't include it. I wonder at this this because I thought it felt like Little Miss Sunshine at some level before reading the references. It's a story of a positive minded slightly dysfunctional family who are going through some tough times for bad choices made in the past. The screenplay and conclusion are conventional and made to the writer's comfort. Emily Blunt has a terrific voice diction, hope to see her in some good animated character.

The character Oscar is charming and Grampa is the same as in Little Miss Sunshine. Though this movie does not break any ground, I couldn't find anything that I did not like in it.

Greetings again from the darkness. Ahhh, the first 2009 script (by Megan Holley) that has the depth, nuances and multiple sub-plots that keep me addicted to movies. Sure one can view this as a simple story of the emotionally struggling sisters who start a bio-hazard clean-up company to connect not just with each other, but also with those who have been the victim of a profound event involving a loved one. It works just fine on that level.

Of course, I never make things that easy. For this viewer, I was absorbed in the connection the sisters had to their dead mother. The quest for a glimpse of her one movie of the week performance as a waitress had the sisters trained to stop in their tracks whenever a "waitress" scene appeared on TV. The sisters are played exceedingly well by the extraordinarily talented Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. Their performances lift a really good script to greatness.

For most movies, that would be plenty. Not here. Director Christine Jeffs ("Sylvia") gets to play with Alan Arkin as the always scheming father, a quick commentary on the disgusting "solution" of public schools tendency to require medication on less than robotic kids, emotionally empty relationships, and the absolute need of people to connect with others.

The fine acting continues with Steve Zahn as the former high school hero turned local cop, whom Adams' character has maintained a long term "bond". Trouble is Zahn's character picked someone else to marry. Clifton Collins Jr adds a wonderful dimension as Adams' possibly new prospect. Mary Lynn Rajskub is just plain fascinating as the lonely lady Blunt thinks she is helping.

Being promoted as from the creators of "Little Miss Sunshine", this one offers up a nice story complimented by many quirks that make it stand apart from the masses. Hopefully it will find wider distribution as we can never have enough top notch story telling.

Just saw the film. I thought I might be let down as I've been waiting with anticipation since I saw the trailer on youtube. I can say that not only was I not let down by this film, but that it superseded them in the most refreshing way possible. There was something I noticed about the movie. It had great comical moments, but it was not the funniest film ever. It had great acting, writing, and was filmed beautifully...and yet I'm sure that it is probably not the best film ever. What I loved about it though was that it was NOT like most films of late that try so hard to be the best film ever. You know the ones with the fancy film work and the melodrama...the lines written that are asking for an Oscar. Sometimes those just irritate me because they are trying so hard to be a great film and they forget to tell a great story. The film makers didn't forget that here. I was not distracted by anything. Everything came together in this film that I felt like I knew the people and I wanted to know what happened to them. I liked it because it reminded me that we're all human. I love that.