flakcfan

"The Guardian" is a very good movie, one that will stay with you long after you have left the theater. At its heart, the film is about emotional journeys undertaken by its lead characters. The action sequences are exciting, but it's the character development that makes this movie. This is one of the very best roles of Kevin Costner's career (and he's had a lot of great ones), and you feel every up and down his character, Ben Randall, goes through. Jake Fischer is probably the most normal character Ashton Kutcher has ever played, and he does so nicely. He works well with Costner and with Melissa Sagemiller, who plays the woman Jake wants to woo. Some critics have carped about the length of the movie, but I disagree. I think it is well-paced, with good detail about what Coast Guard recruits go through. Some edits suggest that valuable parts of the story were left on the cutting-room floor, and there are other characters I would like to have seen more of. Overall, though,this is a fitting tribute to the Coast Guard. Don't miss this film.

Do not listen to the critics, who can only think in terms of comparing this to "The Graduate".....This movie does not set out to be a cultural touchstone, just an entertaining romantic comedy, which it is. I'm not a Jennifer Aniston fan, but she worked well in this movie. I thought she and Mark Ruffalo had good chemistry together. Shirley MacLaine was a pro, though I wish she wasn't forced, as so many over-65 actors and actresses seem to be, to have filth coming out of her mouth. And I would have liked to see her more on the screen with Kevin Costner. Costner had a fine performance, even better than The Upside of Anger. He has several scenes that are just a hoot, and he had subtle moments that prevented, at least for me, the "ick" factor that so many critics seem to have seen. Maybe we didn't see the same movie. I hope the public gives this film more of a chance than the critics have.

The movie was okay. I thought Joan Allen, Alicia Witt, Erika Christenson, Keri Russell and Evan Rachel Wood were terrific in their roles. I'm a big Kevin Costner fan, but I don't see this as one of his best performances. It seemed as if he spent the first half-hour channeling Jack Nicholson, but Costner was much better during the rest of the movie, as his character, Denny, evolved.

I thought Mike Binder was good as the sleazy producer. But I had problems with Binder's writing; I didn't think he chronicled the passage of time that well, and some plot elements didn't make much sense. I did enjoy the music score; I know a lot of people haven't, but it's different, quirky. One thing, though: I scratch my head at the comparison of Denny to Crash Davis in Bull Durham. If Denny's like any Bull Durham character, it's probably Nuke LaLoosh.