Meet Bill

This film is about a man married to a woman from a powerful family undergoing a midlife crisis. Unexpectedly, a high school student helps him through it.

Bill is portrayed to be a complete loser. He realises that he is a loser, and wants to change. The pathetic state he is in is funny and evokes sympathy at the same time. The transformation is quite dramatic, and it is quite a surprise to see Aaron Eckhart shaving himself. I would not have thought that an actor would do that, but then they are probably paid millions of dollars for that scene.

The kid's charming and cheerful persona shines, and I feel that he is the true star in the film. Jessica Alba is as charming and adorable as usual. These three characters interact together with great charm, and makes "Meet Bill" a pleasure to watch.

If you like Aaron Eckhart then you'll like this film. It's a departure from anything he's done in the past. Elizabeth Banks plays his wife, a beautiful, self obsessed, spoiled, rich bitch with no redeeming qualities except her looks and body. (It's VERY much the same role as she played in "The Baxter". She's really got this character type down and is carving a niche for herself in indie films.)

As I watched this movie, I thought that it reminded me of those indie films that I loved from the late 90's and early 2000's and how they just don't make them like this anymore. I didn't laugh all the way through this movie, but there were places where I chuckled (considerably) and I did have a smirk on my face for a good bit of the movie. (Think "The Ex" but not as funny.)

It a great Friday night, too tired to think, order a pizza and veg movie. And if you like indie films from a decade ago, then you'll be glad you rented this one.

Aaron Eckhart, suave and manicured, is surprisingly effective in role as middle-aged sad sack Bill, a disgruntled, directionless human resources executive at his father-in-law's bank who's stuck in a loveless marriage to cheating spouse Elizabeth Banks. The tone of this character portrait is half black comedy and half satire, but Eckhart almost makes the lumpy journey worthwhile (he's an extremely courageous and focused actor, flexible but not a ham). Jessica Alba is fun as a friendly neighborhood salesgirl, but a subplot involving a mouthy teenage boy who chooses Bill to be his "mentor" is excruciating (a duck-hunting sequence with Bill's wife's family is also flabby). Screenwriter Melisa Wallack, who also co-directed with Bernie Goldmann, is careful to let Bill be his own person, but their ultimately victorious "I don't know where I'm going but I'm happy to be here" theme doesn't wash in the end. ** from ****

Aaron Eckhart made this movie, as one of the previous comments said. Other than that, it was all a bit too awkward a movie to call well made. The story is pretty much about a middle aged guy discovering that his career choices make him miserable and how he find his way out without the violence and social satire in American Beauty.

It is a decent comedy, not too bad as some suggested, but certainly not memorable. Jessica Alba plays a medium sized role and Elizabeth Banks looks totally hot.

Bottom line: see it when you feel like watching a light movie, it will be more fun for people approaching middle age than for teens and it can be a great movie to watch with the wife.

Review: Although the cast looked impressive, this movie really wasn't that good and the storyline was pretty terrible. It's about a man who thinks that he has everything that a man wants out of life, until he finds out that his wife is having an affair and his career is going nowhere. He then becomes a mentor for a sharp kid who helps him turn his life around and shows him how to get the most out of life. I'm usually a fan of Aaron Eckharts work, but he really did make a fool out of himself in this movie. The jokes weren't that funny and the storyline went from one ridiculous scene to another. The director piled up to many different elements which made the film seem messy and not that enjoyable. None of the top actors put in an outstanding performance, which is due to the terrible script, so this is yet another movie that has to get the thumbs down from me. Disappointing!

Round-Up: Aaron Eckhart really let me down in this film, alongside Jessica Alba and Elizabeth Banks who were also not that great. There were also some other big names in the film, like Kristen Wiig and Jason Sudeikis, but they weren't in the movie that much. I was impressed with the young looking Logan Lerman whose also starred in Fury, the Percy Jackson franchise and Noah but I just found it hard to find the film slightly amusing. I'm not surprised that it made such a lose at the box office but I am surprised with the budget which must have gone towards the actors wages. Anyway, it's worth a watch if you just want some noise in the background but I personally think that it was a waste of a good cast.

Budget: $5million Worldwide Gross: $347,000 (Terrible!)

I recommend this movie to people who are into their comedies about a man whose goes through a mid-life crisis after finding out that his wife is having an affair. 3/10