Trust the Man

I missed this one at last year's Toronto International Film Fesival, but have just seen a preview prior, presumably to its Toronto release.

For me live-in lovers Billy Crudup and Maggie Gyllenhall delivered sparkling performances far more sympatici than the other couple -- the married pair of Julianne Moore and David Duchovny who also did their job well, but it's the antics of the former two that keep this film alive and moving.

Without wising a spoiler on you, I was in a genuine state of suspense over whether or not this movie would have a feel good ending.

The behaviour of these four characters is not really rooted in reality -- who expects this of a comedy? -- but their quirks and good qualities are sufficiently close to it speak for the times.

There were several good laughs and a couple of good running jokes which didn't pall on me.

I found Trust the Man a likable effort which should prove popular in spite of what I know will be some critics' objections for occasional in-your-face crudities

With over 100 feature films released in year, it can be hard to keep track of all the titles worth tracking down and checking out. Last year I saw a preview for Trust the Man before Thank You For Smoking, but with the great number of other flicks coming out in wider release, I forgot about it until this weekend. After watching it, I wish I had forgotten about it completely for there is almost nothing redeeming about this cinematic catastrophe. The cast has no chemistry, the writing and directing is amateurish, and cinematography is murky.

However, the picture's biggest fault is the tone. Trust the Man drifts uneasily from dirty sex comedy to tepid romance to boring drama from scene to scene, making for not only an extremely frustrating viewing experience, but an uncomfortable one as well. It's as writer/director Bart Freundlich didn't know what genre he wanted his movie to fall under during shooting, thinking that he would decide later in the editing room. Apparently that didn't work out either as it seems there are numerous scenes missing or incomplete. Other scenes go on far too long(the scenes with Billy Crudup in his car are perfect examples). There wasn't a single scene in Trust the Man I found effective, funny, or well done. The plot is a huge mess, gaping with holes. The only reason I give it a 1 as opposed to a zero is I reserve zeros for only those films that I find morally offensive/repugnant or without any artistic value whatsoever. 1/10

The only thing this movie has going for it is the acting talent. There is no story, no arc, and the characters take an incredibly shallow view on relationships. Just like the other 2 B. Freundlich movies, it is all talk and no substance. Boring and has nothing to say. Tries way too hard to be funny, and all the forced jokes just fall flat. Since IMDb is forcing me to write 10 full lines, I will continue by saying that Julianne Moore is luminous as always, David Duchovny is very likable, Billy Crudup is over-the-top and annoying (scenery chewing much?) and Maggie Gyllenhaal is wonderful. She is the best thing in the movie and rises above the weak material.

One of the significant tragedies in modern film is the coupling of one of our most powerful actresses with an insipid filmmaker.

Here, we have her placed in a film he made, playing an actress with an insipid husband — a writer. He has a friend who is there simply to say goofier things, and thereby make the film appealing. As with all date movies, the separated couple is reunited by a public confession of love that is accepted (and happily ever after...). In this case, that confession literally happens at a play Julianne's character is in. So there's the simple, mechanical narrative fold.

As a quirky, inconsequential film, its not so bad, about in the middle of its cohort. Our goofy pair, anchored by Billy Crudup who is observed by Gyllenhaal (and in another position, Shandling). But no one really comes to film simply to tread water in the flood of desperate romance. We come for some advance. With films that advertise themselves as trivial, a trivial advance will do.

Nothing here does that, and because the centerpiece is a woman who is patiently wasting her life, the message is clear.

So I will recommend that you not watch this unless you are prepared to get depressed.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

Tom (David Duchovny) is a stay-at-home dad married to a popular actress (Julianne Moore), while his best friend and her younger brother Tobey (Billy Crudup) has lived for eight years with the hard-working Elaine (Maggie Gyllenhaal) but won't commit to the relationship by marrying her. This is what happens when these four New Yorkers decide to explore other options.

At a glance, Trust the Man seems harmless enough but it's actually fake and a bit too insignificant to really have an impact on the viewer. The script was simple and it wasn't hard to figure out where things were going. The dialog was okay although some of it was a bit unnatural. I'm not from New York so maybe this is actually normal behavior but a lot of the conversations were just awkward and none of it felt real. All of the characters spoke in the same way so the movie got a little irritating because it was just the same personalities on screen and there was no variety. However, some of the dialog and scenes were pretty funny.

The characters weren't particularly interesting and most of them were unlikable. In the beginning, their situations were interesting to watch and then the film ditched the laughs and got all serious. The sudden change of tone invited the viewer to feel sorry for these people even though most were one-dimensional and pretty selfish. So, the first half of the movie was decently funny and consistent. The second half was serious and just not very interesting. The one thing I did like about the movie was the setting and Bart Freundlich did a good job at creating a realistic area. It's too bad he couldn't use some of that realism with the script and characters.

Out of the leading cast, Billy Crudup gave the best performance. His character was pretty selfish yet still engaging and funny. David Duchovny was very wooden and not interesting at all. This was probably the intention although I didn't like the idea of his character at all and his performance was unbearable at times. Maggie Gyllenhaal was fine but she can do better and she didn't seem to really be trying. Julianne Moore had a couple of good scenes although she was a bit over the top and fake. Out of the supporting cast, Eva Mendes was surprisingly funny although she was only on screen for about ten minutes, maybe a little less. She was the only one who stuck out from that group. Overall, Trust the Man had a decent story although it couldn't generate genuine sympathy due to it's shallow and fake storyline. If you like any of the actors, it might be worth a rental although they all have better work out there. Rating 5/10