What Goes Up

Great introduction to movies by Jonathan Glatzer, this movie told us a story that is unique and bizarre about a small town teacher who has recently died and those around him that was affected. As one of the students quotes every Action has a Reaction and that is what drives this movie forward.

Olivia Thirbly and Josh Peck give us what we have come to expect from these young rising stars, Steve Coogan and Molly Shannon did not disappoint on most accounts, however I feel as though Hilary Duff needs to attune herself more proper to these roles. She is making the right steps into a direction out of Disney and I feel this will be an experience that will help her develop her acting talents for future roles.

The premise of this movie is very interesting, it revolves around the death of Sam Calallucci a teacher of misfit students who all felt very "in love" with him because he allowed them to be themselves. This makes me wonder why they decided to change the title of the movie from "Safety Glass" to "What Goes Up" I think the latter had more commercial appeal but the first title seemed to bring out more emotion. This was a very character driven movie however some should have been touched upon a bit more such as Josh's character but a movie can only be so long before boring its audience.

All in all I enjoyed this movie, it did have some weak links in acting and minor problems in its story which could have been written tighter if that wasn't what was the aim then some things should be left for interpretation in a more fashionable way.

8/10

~XTC

'What Goes Up' written and directed by first timers Jonathan Glatzer and Robert Lawson, is not a perfect film but it is by no means a terrible film either. At current the film has received 145 votes and has a score of 4.8, well that's just ridiculous and in the review below I hope to explain why.

The Film starts off with much promise, Steve Coogan's acting is superb and the rest of the cast do a very good job too. For the first hour this is a very good film, it's deep, engrossing, and imaginative as it sets up for what seems to be a powerful and emotive story with an interesting array if characters and some brilliant cinematography. I found myself truly captivated, the integration of the Challenger disaster was done very tactfully and we frequently get some wonderful shots from Space that I really liked. However, about an hour in it starts to lose pace followed by a slight loss of direction as the main character, Campbell Babbitt, undergoes a sudden change that really doesn't suit and is poorly developed. The film then goes the same way as Campbell becoming a bit annoying and awkward at times. By the end I found myself feeling a little disappointed as it had thrown almost all the potential it had shown early on, settling of a generic and uninspired end.

All in all 'What Goes Up' is OK, great in parts whilst boring and unoriginal in others, yet, for all its faults I liked it. It may not be perfect but come on people, even 'Little Nicky' has a 5/10 and trust me this is much, much better than 'Little Nicky'. The first hour and brilliant cinematography ensure that 'What Goes Up' is not a 4.8, it's a film defiantly worth watching and one I would happily recommend.

6/10

'WHAT GOES UP must come down' and that seems to be one way of looking at this funky little film written by Robert Lawson and writer/director Jonathan Glatzer. Given Steve Coogan's comedic talents it is able to rise above an implausible script and come close to be entertaining.

The time frame is January 1986 and Campbell Babbitt (the last name is well chosen as a reference to Sinclair Lewis' novel 'Babbitt' - a satire of American culture, society, and behavior, it critiques the vacuity of middle-class American life and its pressure on individuals toward conformity) played by Steve Coogan is a reporter for New York World, writing a series about a woman who became a 'hero' by turning the anguish of seeing her son murdered in to acts of civil service (the woman whom Babbitt has grown to love commits suicide, and out of cherishing her memory he continues to write stories as though she were still alive - an act that Babbitt's editor Donna (Molly Price) finds ridiculous and sends Babbitt of to New Hampshire to cool off and to over the upcoming Space Shuttle Challenger).

Babbitt arrives in a little town in new Hampshire (the town is preparing to celebrate the Shutttle launch as Christa McAuliffe was raised there) to discover that his old friend Sam who was planning to become a priest but opted for teaching had a class of 'problem kids' who adored him. Babbitt discovers Sam's body in the street. The class of odd kids mourn Sam's passing: he was their hero. What Babbitt discovers is a group of kids each of whom is challenged with a problem and is trying to find ways to overcome those problems: Lucy Diamond - a reference to the Beatles song - (Hillary Duff) was in love with Sam; Tess Sulivan (Olivia Thirlby) claims she saw Lucy and Sam in an intimate moment, suggesting that Sam's act resulted in his jumping off his roof in suicide (Tess has private problems at home that lead to an unwanted pregnancy); Jim (Josh Peck) is the guardian of the coffin and funeral and 'burial' of Sam; Peggy (Sarah Lind) is a paraplegic who talks Fenster (Max Hoffman, son of Dustin Hoffman) into being her first sexual encounter; Ann (Ingrid Nilson) and her 'twin' Sue (Andrea Brooks) provide comic relief in their bizarre antics; Lute (Laura Carswell) is the dissatisfied choral assistant to the weirdo-choir director and pageant designer Penelope Little (Molly Shannon).

In the midst of this strange crew and situation Babbitt as a reporter tries to sort every thing out, falls for Lucy, and is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his woe begotten story in New York. His influence helps the kids sort out their priorities and leads Babbitt to find a way out of his own unwanted heroism. The story ends before we know the result of the Challenger explosion - and the creation of a real hero in Christa McAuliffe. But there really isn't a beginning or an end to a story in the ordinary sense of a film. WHAT GOES UP merely puts before the viewer the lives of some odd people and lets us watch how they cope. It has a bit of comedy, though dark, and a lot of tender moments that don't come into focus until movies end. For many this film will perplex: for others it will satisfy. It is an offbeat tale with a lot of innuendoes.

Grady Harp

"What Goes Up" tells the story of Campbell Babbitt, an emotionally damaged journalist from NYC who goes to Concord (NH) to cover the hometown hooplah for the Space Shuttle Challenger launch. After having found out about an old friend of his' apparently suicide he becomes entangled in the petty businesses of his late friend's student and tries to uncover the truth of his death.

Or at least this is the most probable synopsis, 'cuz the movie ain't discernible at all. It aims to be profound and leave a certain message, but still, it's really convoluted & unclear. The cast has some potential and big names (Hilary Duff, Steve Coogan, Josh Peck etc.) but no one of them seems to be at easy with the script and what they have to do.

The movie certainly has some interesting scenes, but near the end it delivers the most outrageous scene you can shoot at least from my point of view, something really abhorrent! It gives me an ante-litteram Euphoria vibe at times throughout its entire length, something that I really despise.

The only positive thing I found out about it it's the fact that Hilary & Josh have become great friends years after the shooting & releasing of this film and both still cannot make sense of what this movie should be.

Maybe in the future I'll be able to re-evaluate "What Goes Up" but for now my vote is negative!

I was privileged enough to see this film with one of the producers tonight in Las Vegas. I went with some trepidation as I had heard from my DIL, who's the producer's niece, that while she thought the first cut was good, it had some issues. And unfortunately, I am very critical when it comes to movies due to my writing background.

I have to say I was truly amazed at the quirkiness and depth of this story. Yes, it did have some issues. There were places where I would have liked to have more in-depth characterization, there were places I thought the pacing was slow. The acting was good and dead on with what characters had on their plates. And in all honesty, this is the type of movie that comes out of the blue and ends up a cult favorite. It is that good in some strange way.

Maybe part of this is because I can remember this week so well myself. I was just out of college and worked for Lockheed. We were on top of the world and it just came crashing down on us all that Thursday morning. I can't imagine having the whole week being that bad. LOL!

Then again, maybe it's the part about being adult enough to understand when you've done something wrong yet there is no way to ever take it back. I remember this lesson well.

Or maybe, it's just that the misfits are so true to life that I can empathize with what is going on in their lives. I know that I would have been devastated if my favorite teacher had died during my high school years no matter what the cause.

Still, it would have been worse if said teacher had committed suicide. I was angsty enough then to have wondered if it were my fault in any way at all.

Adding all these elements up, you have one heck of a story that can appeal to the masses. I have to say, I liked it.