Syrup

First of all, I haven't read the book, which I heard was good. This movie is more of a social commentary on consumerism, particularity in the advertising industry and how everything is about projecting the right image to make money.

The main story is about two advertising people are attracted to each other, but are they attracted to the image that the other is presenting or the real person behind it? There are some interesting anecdotes on the nature of marketing being presented in the movie, which I find to be the biggest draw of the movie for me. If seen from a "criticism of marketing" point of view, the movie is "deep". There are layers to the characters and story that requires a re-watch to get everything.

Overall, the movie achieves what it set to do. The story moves along at a good pace, there were no boring parts. Amber Heard's acting outshines the other actors. The not-so-big budget of the movie shows at times, but it doesn't interfere it from being a good movie.

Syrup is a clever piece of film based on Max Barry's blacker than black novel about modern business where saying Wharton and Harvard is more important than effort and hard work. In a world where brand image is everything, everything is up for grabs.

Shiloh Frenandez plays Scat, a guy with dreams but lacking the killer instinct, that is supplied by 6, a platinum blonde who lives for marketing, well-played by Amber Heard - together they look to make a new soft drink and get involved in the ludicrously lucrative world of inter-office politics and global marketing.

This is good solid satire that just about has enough self-knowing irony to cock a snoot at what it's meant to be doing - and we, as the audience are gullible to be fooled and wise enough to know the fun is being fooled.

All in all this is a well-made and well-packaged film that doesn't quite get to the heart of the novel - but it's fun and funny and appeals to the post-hipster too cool for school in all of us.

I haven't read the book, but reading the comments it would appear as though its fairly different so I don't think this matters much as far as a review of the film is concerned.

The main thing that distracted me through the whole movie was the casting of Shiloh Fernandez as Scat, other than maybe having the look of a sleazy marketer, he seemed massively out of place as a male lead. I didn't think there was any chemistry between him and Amber Heard at all, any attraction between the two seemed totally implausible. He'd probably be fine in a supporting role, but not as a lead. I was wondering the whole time if his father financed the movie or something to get him the role.

Other than that the movie was OK, it did seem to be trying to hard to be cool and edgy and didn't really pull it off. Sure it had a tiny budget, but if anything doing things on a shoe string should make a movie more cool and edgy, but it wasn't at all. Everything that was meant to be cool seemed forced and cliché.

On the positive side, I thought Amber Heard was great as 6, as was her character. I can see why the ending left a few unhappy, but I think it was better to do what they did than just some by the numbers rom-com ending.

Ahhhh IMDb reviewers what is wrong with you people. I sat down to this after reading the reviews (5.5 average) and thought maybe its just another romcom flam which will fill in the evening, it will be nothing much.

But what I got was an original storyline and an engaging non cloned romcom I never seen before which zinged with ideas and concepts which I am still thinking about 2 days later, that is very rare with films these days.

As the film went the main protagonists have a great on screen chemistry, the story is an in-depth look at shallow marketing and it does that brilliantly. I really don't have to say more.

People have a look at this film and don't trust the reviewers who have read the book. I am sure the book is better, but as a standalone film this is very enjoyable. I have just bought another of the authors books as I am eager for more of his views of this time we live in.

This one tries to be cool, slick and witty. But it just comes off as dumb and superficial. Sure that maybe the point of this flick, but not when you don't believe what the narrator has to say most of the way through. This movie has problems with what it tries to make fun of. It's all style and image, but has no substance or intelligence to it. Although not believable but at least it starts out somewhat intriguing, but quickly loses it's flare and just becomes redundant. It's like watching a fairy tale version of the marketing world, which is fine but like I said this movie is boring. The humor is flat and just about everything about it is forgettable, including the dis-likable main characters. In another words it tries to create a image of it being professional, but underneath it all it's amateurishly done. At the end of it all, nothing seems to be resolved and far from it being satisfying.

3/10