I numeri dell'amore

sure, it is far to be the right word. but it is the most comfortable. for a beautiful story, for a great job from Jessica Alba, for the touching atmosphere, for the performances of Marylouise Burke and J.K. Simmons. maybe because I am teacher, Mona Gray seems to me one of the most seductive characters from the last decade of cinema. because this job remains a refuge, has deep roots in the experiences of childhood, impose a form of train of exercises to escape from yourself. if a sin of film must be defined, it is , maybe, the desire of director to be a complete work - from traumas to the love story. but it is a small, almost insignificant sin. so, a lovely/touching film.

Yeah, main character was called many times weirdo - by young children, which teacher she was. That self was weird too - don't think that it is something happening often in some elementary school, in any country.

And here is main problem with this movie - overdone, to make some dramatic effect, but just in wrong, unrealistic way. Worst was that bringing of axe in classroom - and yes, those who expected that there will be something there with that axe were right - sadly - that was just way too stoopid. And clearly it is on writers. Little less on direction and I can not blame actors, except that took roles in this .

Well, I guess that Jessica Alba wanted some more serious role, without being sexy and like. But whole thing works not as comedy - really little funny moments. As drama it is overdone, unrealistic. Math is not only numbers and adding, subtract - but there are probably people which really try to explain everything with numbers.

Well, message is clear, despite all flaws. I will not write about it here.

With little more effort by writers, maybe with some feedback to them this could be much better.

Jessica Alba's character and cut-price Mark Ruffallo tribute act guy are at the movies. They're both talking over the film being "kooky" and "charming".

Some guy behind them asks them to stop talking. Ruffalo-lite tells him to get another seat, throws popcorn at him and then nearly starts a fight with him.

I mean, c'mon! Do they honestly think that movie fans watching the film are gonna warm to that kind of a-holeish behaviour?! Just seemed to me the film showed utter contempt for people who actually want to watch films without jerks talking over them. Why get so bent out of shape over one particular scene? Cos it's a waste. Little things like that can wreck a film. What the hell was the director thinking?

An Invisible Sign is one of those films you kind of wish you had never seen. There are plenty of movies worse than this one; but this one tries so very hard to be both loved and cherished that it leaves one feeling used.

First-time feature-film director, Marilyn Agrelo (she had earlier directed the documentary Mad Hot Ballroom), uses so much saccharine in trying to sweeten Sign's audience into loving and liking and feeling for and/or sorry for this odd assortment of characters that one begins to wish strychnine had been used instead. In real-life, NONE of these eccentric characters would come across as likable and so one has to force himself/herself into finishing this film.

Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four, Sin City, Never Been Kissed) plays Mona Gray, an odd-duck of a character who is kicked-out of her house by her parents years after her genius mathematician father has suffered a nervous breakdown (she is kicked-out for no real reason other than she is 20 and her mom isn't likable). Lucky Mona, though (!), as her mother has helped get her daughter a job as the math teacher at the local elementary school ... Mona having no degree isn't a problem (Mom lied saying she had one) as the school never looks into her past (I'm not kidding).

It is at school/work surrounded by kids with greater problems than her own that Mona begins to wake-up to life and find purpose and meaning beyond a search for numbers. Mona also meets a fellow teacher played by Chris Messina (Julie & Julia, Monogamy, Vicky Cristina Barcelona) who becomes interested in her odd manners and seeks out her friendship. Just as these last few sentences suggest, An Invisible Sign IS oddly disjointed and filled with scenarios and situations that don't really go together. It is as if the film were pieced together because of "cute, little moments" ... instead of giving us a cohesive and plausible story.

There is little-to-no charm here and the entire thing feels tried and odd to me. I believe Messina's character was written/created for the sole purpose of having a sane individual in the film (yes ... groan). Alba has tried drama in the past and has come across marginally successful at times; but An Invisible Sign doesn't help her resume. It is almost too bad this one wasn't invisible.

"There comes a moment when you look around waiting for the person in charge to help you and then you realize your the person in charge." After her father suffers a breakdown, Mona (Alba) becomes obsessed with math. Using it has an escape she becomes distant from reality until her mother kicks her out. After taking a job teaching math to elementary school kids she learns to grow up and help others. This movie started off very funny and entertaining then really started to drag. The ending was OK, very predictable though. The middle of the movie seemed to repeat itself and drag on and on and on. For those who like off beat quirky humor this is a movie for you. I would compare the humor to "500 Days Of Summer", but not as funny. This did have some very touching moments in it, but overall this movie had the potential to be very good, but it never got what it needed. Overall, a good movie that could have been better. It was just missing something. I give it a C+.

Would I watch again? - I don't think I will.

*Also try - 500 Days Of Summer & Music Never Stopped