Petunia

This is a terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE movie! I didn't believe it could be as bad as previous reviewers said it was, but I was wrong. They were right!

I admire those who held out for 40 minutes and more. They deserve a medal! I hit eject at 9:32, after Christine Lahti (didn't she use to be good?) said, at her son's wedding, "Tell him his ear wax is making me nauseous." I mean, I'm from a dysfunctional family, but even we weren't ALL obnoxious morons like every single person in this horrible movie; and we weren't even rich!

Has there ever been a stupider screenplay than this? A more clumsily wasted group of actors? More incompetent direction?

This is by far the worst movie I have ever seen, and I've seen Plan 9 from Outer Space.

OK. Good premise, good cast, good money. And then - a kind of slow, almost leisurely, but basically rather sad, car crash. Nobody cares about anybody. The parents are so self-obsessed I felt like putting a brick through the screen. It's a good attempt, well (enough) done, but there's really just no-one to like. At all. In the press (here in the UK) there have been a few pundits saying there will be fewer films but they'll cost more. This wasn't cheap, and has decent production values. It's the script, I suspect. If you're a BIG fan of a cast member, then go for it. Otherwise it's a stretch.

4 out of 10. Not awful, just a damp squib.

Petunia is a mixed bag of family drama. First off, I wouldn't say that this film is a romantic comedy or even a comedy. If anything, this film is an attempt to look at the "modern" family unit. Now there were a few moments of dark humor that made me chuckle here and there. But overall, this film is a drama, and it actually had lots of potential. However, there are too many storylines, and the film keeps getting in its own way. Here, there are three main storylines, the parents who can't communicate anymore, the brother who is hooking up with his brother's wife, and the gay brother. I won't spoil anything but the only one that is really interesting is the Gay brother who finds out his boyfriend is married to Brittany Snow. The interactions between Brittany Snow and the main character are really sweet, funny, and thought provoking. Also, my DVD has Brittany Snow on the cover, and I was very disappointed to find out that she wasn't the main star. But her character and her performance defiantly carried the second half of the film. And while the ending was great, I thought the film had a good message. As Brittany Snow states, "I don't want to be one of those people that settles for a S***** life because the alternative takes too much work."

This was a pleasant surprise. "Petunia" revolves around an extended family. The children are grown up and relate to their parents as adults.

These characters are narcissistic, they abuse drugs and alcohol, and mostly they are desperately searching for meaningful lives in our fast paced world.

The drama is quite heavy at times, and always fascinating. It's broken up by some truly funny situations. The acting is good, as you should expect from a film like this. Charlie, the lead, is especially impressive as the meek but affable middle son who actually holds the family together.

I suppose if I had one criticism, it's that the characters all seem independently wealthy. Apart from that, this is a pretty compelling portrait of modern life. I recommend it.

If you liked this, then please check out my other reviews. I try to review the movies which not many people see.

Saw this on Tubi and laughed all the way through. Good acting and funny script. The humor is often counter culture, somewhat like the Munsters, where spreading dust in the Munster's house was considered "cleaning". Or planting grab grass instead of Kentucky blue grass was considered the most attractive option. In Petunia, we have a recently wedded young bride who obviously isn't ready to settle down and have a baby. Monogamy for her is a bad idea and she wastes no time sleeping around after taking her vows. The movie ends on happy notes. Word of caution....if you think the use of the F word is never funny, then DO NOT watch this movie. I didn't think it was over used, and where it was used, it was a hilarious.