Une chance pour tous

OK already! The debate scenes don't reflect true-to-life college debating environments. The characters were clichéd and one dimensional. Some of it is preachy. I grant you all that, other reviewers. But first of all, what a cool concept for a movie...a debate team at Pepperdine. I love it. I consider myself creative, but I could never have come up with that idea. Score one for the screenwriter, or whomever pitched the idea. Roy Scheider is so appealing on screen. I love that guy. I understand he was a Liberal in real life. I don't care. I still like him.His best scene is when he tells a story about his mother. Kirk Cameron's best scene is when he is trying to get his debate partner and date to loosen up in his dorm room. He played it with down-to-earth realism and sincerity. The biggest mistake of the film is Cameron's accent. Why not just make his character be from a small town in Eastern Oregon, OR hire an actor who is actually from Oklahoma or Texas?? His earnest attempt to do the accent drew away from his effort to portray the other aspects of his character. Abortion?? Come on. College kids debating that before the Supreme Court in the late 80s? What a lazy choice. It was like the writer or the film makers didn't want to rack their brains a bit and come up with something more original. That choice kind of ruined the film for me, although I realize that the whole Jami Gertz character was based on it's tie to this issue. Wow, Tim Quill nailed the noblesse oblige patrician with a hankering for the written word. But can't you be both a politician and a writer at the same time, or maybe write, before or after a political career? His character was choosing between the two career paths, but maybe he didn't need to. The politician Fred Grandy was an actor on the Love Boat before politics. Fred Thompson combined the two. Law and Order and politics. So I don't buy the conflict. Get rid of the sketch artist. I didn't get it at all. There is a kid who keeps sketching the people we see, but he never speaks. It was gratuitous. I loved the use of the classic 80s tune "Forever Young," set to a driving sequence on the Pacific Coast Highway, as well as the Celine Dion opening track, long before her fame. Watch it for its' camp, for the early resume of Gertz and Cameron, for the beach setting, and for the unique plot vehicle, college debating.

Amanda Peterson! Peter DeLuise! Jami Gertz! AMANDA PETERSON! Wow man.

This is a kick down memory lane. Amanda Peterson, afflicted with "The

Limp": "No - YOU be careful. I'M fine. I'll walk again - normally -

someday. And I'll ride a horse again. And maybe I'll even, dance, again

someday. So don't you or any of the rest of you here - feel sorry for

me, because I won't f**king stand for it." (massive applause from

debating audience).

Can you feel it? CAN YOU FEEL IT? Leave your cynicism at the door and

let this movie wash over you like warm bath water. I don't know what

else to say.

Listen to Me is, quite frankly, spectacularly bad, which makes it hard to rate. It was, quite unintentionally, hysterical at moments, and I love such great debating advice as, "We're not going to win with facts, so let's go for drama!" and suggesting that a new plan should be run in the 2AR. As other reviewers have noted, it does NOT represent debate very accurately at all, and is highly melodramatic and overwrought. However, as a debater (policy for 2 years in high school, now into my 3rd year of parliamentary in college), I enjoyed watching it, at least once, because it was so unintentionally funny. My coach last spring had us watch it during a meeting and we all laughed nonstop because of its inherent stupidity. My advice: if you're a debater, you might think this hilarious. If you're not, you might not enjoy it. Additionally, don't for a moment think that's how REAL debate is done. Just to pick one example, I cannot even begin to imagine my coach advising me to make up stories in order to win rounds. Side note of interest to debaters: Tom Miller, who is a debate official in the film, is an actual college debate coach at UCLA.

Granted this movie is a horrible representation of college debate. That being said, the movie itself is not horrible. It's not a thought-provoking power movie either. However, unlike the previous review I enjoyed this movie for it's entertainment value. If you enjoy dramatic movies that are a bit "cheesy" then you will enjoy this movie. It's not ever going to win any awards, but it was not produced to either. Do not take this movie so seriously and you will get some enjoyment out of it. It also does deal with some serious issues and although others may not like the way it was done, those you have a personal attachment to the topic will take comfort in knowing that the emotional side was handled in a considerate fashion. All in all, there are positives to this movie, so don't take it as a "How To" on college debate, as it was not meant to be one and does not portray it accurately. It's just a movie, get over it already!

Though it has been years since I saw "Listen", I remember it not for the quality of the acting, which I thought was fine, but for delivering the most eloquent argument against abortion I had ever seen, even to this day. Any movie that gets the range of comments that have been posted, from rave to rage, is certainly has to be called controversial. So the debate scenes did not match up to the life experiences of some, it is a STORY. Its message is very, very strong, and delivered quite effectively. Isn't that what movies, books, plays, photography, et al are about? I just saw "Cider House Rules", the flip side of the abortion discussion from "Listen". Try watching "Listen" and "Cider House" back to back for what should be quite an emotional and intellectual experience. I rate both films at least 9 out of 10.

PS: I am 64, male, anti-abortion, and pro-choice.