Hits

Ahhh, Hits. It's one of those movies that you want to like going in more than you actually like after seeing it.

I think the main problem with this movie is that it suffers tremendously from "my first film" disease. Cross wrote and directed it, and because of that doesn't seem to be willing or able to throw anything away.

For example, Michael Cera plays a drug dealer and has two scenes. In those scenes we find that another character really likes a particular type of weed. That character's liking that particular type of weed is never referenced thereafter. (Nor is weed itself!) In other words, the two scenes with Cera are entirely superfluous to the story, they don't have us gain any insight into the characters (other than weed choice), and in general are just a waste of the audience's time. They don't make the characters any more relate-able, they don't draw you into the story, they just sit there like giant boxes on a storyboard taking up time and space but not advancing anything.

In a similar vein, we learn that another character's wife is baby crazy. This character being baby crazy is not used for comedic effect, it doesn't affect the actions of the main characters in any way, and again just takes up time. The movie would be exactly the same (the characters would still have motivation and do exactly the same things) if that entire character was excised from the script! So if that character is a giant GNDN, why are we wasting time learning about them?

Both of these scenes really typify the problems that Hits has; it has the genesis of a lot of funny ideas but few are seen through to completion and payoff. Baby crazy lady could make an unexpected entry into the final train wreck scene, adding tension and zaniness. Instead she attends safe and sound via teleconference -- no zaniness or tension there. The other character's choice of weed (or even tendency to smoke weed!) could have been used to play off the cops that are around town. Nope. Even one character who is caught peeping in a window is never brought to justice nor is said peeping ever referenced again. What a waste!

The giant train wreck at the end is a proved winning formula for a movie, but unfortunately comes very late. Moreso, it isn't a large enough train wreck payoff to satisfy the journey getting there. It needed more characters' threads coming together rather than only three to be a really satisfying payoff. More to the point, the great reveal is handled fairly ham-handedly and is formulaic.

There are some funny scenes in Hits, but as Cross' own introduction says you'll laugh more than three times but definitely less than ten. The movie itself isn't a train wreck, but I really wish it was more (and paradoxically, less) than it currently is.

The writer of this movie is so out of touch with reality. I couldn't even finish it. Just shows how many uneducated people are in "Hollywood."

A fame hungry food server will do everything to be a star even if she literally has nothing to back it up. When her father suddenly became an internet sensation and hooks up with a local hipster group, she tries to capitalize and get her 15 minutes of fame.

Not my cup of tea.

Another film that does not live up to its mocking premise. It just happens. I think the main culprit to the rather cold reception of the film is since it went for an ensemble it does not really have a strong narrative to back it up.

The characters are mocked without really giving a lot of earned moments or clear connective themes. The narrative also does not rise to its boring America premise. In addition, The 'I want a son like him scene' or just the general sense of the whatever that the Voice CD went, or the hipster movement is just plain non-sensical and never really have any kind of stakes. The film did everything all at once. By having more than one focus, none of which landed - leaves you just plainly thinking that happened without any emotional impact. It just happened. Ha.

Not recommended.

I'm taking time to write a review due to the quality of the performances given by the actors in this movie. I just watched it on Netflix. The description says "Starring Julia Stiles, David Koechner, Michael Cera". That isn't accurate. Cera is in two scenes and Stiles' appearance is even shorter. IMDb says the budget was $1 million, so there is no way they could afford to pay the salaries those names would command as stars.

The real stars of the movie were Meredith Hanger and Matt Walsh. Matt is a character actor who has been in countless TV shows and movies. Meredith is an up and comer who got her start in soap operas. The characters they and the rest of the cast create are what really make the movie work. In that sense it's similar to "Napoleon Dynamite". If a fan of the movie is asked, "What is 'Naopleon Dynamite' about?" The fan wouldn't describe the plot of the move. Instead, the response would be, "Those guys are just funny. You'd just have to watch it to get it."

Meredith's "Katelyn" is a naive young lady who wants nothing more than to be famous. Does she want to be a pop singer? Or a movie star? Or the host of a TV show? It doesn't matter. She just wants to be a celebrity. Unfortunately she doesn't seem to have the talent or the resourcefulness to become one.

Matt's "Dave" is as equally clueless as his daughter, Katelyn. Dave sees himself as the last bastion standing for freedom and liberty against the tyranny of his small town mayor and her evil henchmen called city councilmen. To see how this develops and affects his daughter you're going to have to watch the movie.

Another reviewer stated the movie has too many unnecessary scenes. I have to agree with that. It's probably my biggest gripe of the film. The writer/director would have done himself a favor if he had brought in a second party to give him ideas on the storyline and/or editing of the movie to make the movie flow more smoothly by getting rid of the superfluous scenes or dialog.

Aside from the acting I appreciated the message it sent about today's impact of social media. Never before has Andy Warhol's quote about everyone getting 15 minutes of fame been more true. It's shown in a comedic light, but you can honestly see how ridiculous it is for people like the Kardashians to be famous for no reason, or how the public can try and convict someone after watching a 90 second video on YouTube.

Overall its a quirky, independent film that will appeal to those who appreciate subtle comedy provided by talented actors creating over the top characters.

I cannot think of when I've seen so much talent squandered in a comedic movie as with David Cross's 'Hits'. But then again, I'm not convinced this was supposed to be a comedy. It is possible Cross has gotten so advanced in his irony that this 90 minute critique of the unwashed flyover idiots - and the equally gullible New York "hipsters", and, honestly, everybody but Cross himself - is actually a hybrid documentary, the actors unawares they were executing the author's cunning critique of how gullible everybody in the world is, except the Davidians, of course.

Cross has talent like Amy Sedaris, Michael Cera and the always hilarious Dave Koechner, and uses them for all of a couple scenes each, never once putting them in a situation where they can show off their comedic abilities, rather, rolling out one tired, pandering inside joke after another. In one scene where Michael Cera sells pot to a few nerdy hipsters, the comedy centers around how particular some potheads are over their specific type of grass, a hilarious set piece if you happen to be one of the hundreds of people in the world that has witnessed such absurdities.

The script is trite, cliché and one dimensional. It is so clumsy getting out of the gate that a full 45 minutes in I still had no idea what the movie was about, nor had I laughed once, nor did I care about a single character. In the end, Hits is nothing more than a blathering and pointless monologue, typical of Cross in recent years, where he criticizes the minutia of people that are not as enlightened as he and his cult. To confirm that I'm not just using hyperbole, go to Youtube and look for Cross's diatribe on Jim Belushi, all because Belushi didn't sign an autograph once. It's proof positive Cross has lost his mind, and the defense of his idiotic actions in the comments section evidence of a cult.

It seems incredible that with all the success Cross had in the past with the highly acclaimed Mr. Show and his hilarious turn in Arrested Development, he could not find a better project to put his time and efforts into than... well, most everything he's done, and now this pointless waste of time. One has to wonder if maybe it was Odenkirk that came up with all those funny ideas on Mr. Show and Cross was just in the right place at the right time. He is a funny actor, no doubt, but I'm afraid he's become twice the gullible idiot of those he finds copious time to ridicule.