Frank and Cindy

Geez what a waste of time this movie was. I haven't seen the documentary, but this movie on it's own merits simply, well.....has no merit whatsoever. The dad is an absolute loser with no decent qualities who was famous for a bit after writing a repetitive and annoying song in the 80's. Not to mention the worst fake guitar playing in the history of cinema. Rene Russo's portrayal of the mom, which unfathomably is getting positive reviews here, was one of the most painful things I've had to endure. Oscar worthy my eye! Just another forgettable film with half hearted performances dialed in by a cast looking for their paycheck and not much else. The only spark worthy of note is Jane Levy.

Why is it when someone tells an autobiographical tale they're called self-indulgent or other unkind remarks? The very nature of one's own story means that they're at the center of the narrative. How can it be any other way? Anyway, this film should have hit the mainstream much harder than it did. I was enchanted with every character as well as the story from beginning to end. I knew nothing about the backstory going in and that was probably a good thing as there's a lot of judgment about that as well... Like should the director have even made this film if there was already a documentary. What difference does it make? He did a fantastic job here, period, mining the nuances of a complicated love story with his parents. Maybe it deserved to be retold from another approach. The film was funny, touching and compelling. And Russo and Platt give outstanding performances. I love that actresses are allowing themselves to be real, meaning unattractive, these days. Recently saw Melissa McCarthy in "Can You Ever Forgive Me" and Patricia Arquette in "Escape at Dannemora." Like those gals, Renee is going for the performance in this film with no vanity at all. And she gives the performance of her career. Bravo to everyone all around. I hope this film finds its audience on Netflix because it deserves so much more than the attention it's received so far.

After watching the documentary I watched this film and Rene Russo blew me away. She nailed the quirky role of Cindy and really was the only reason enjoyed the film. The rest of the film was a bit slow.

The actors are amazing and so is added mark marons character but pointless storytelling.

Seriously. This movie is redundant, superfluous, tautological and useless. The doc was so much better.

And real.