A Short History of Decay

I really enjoyed the tempo and pacing of this movie. Felt like a dance all the way through. Parents and kids revealing bits of themselves to each other, then pulling back, then being vulnerable, then teasing. All with a rhythm that felt natural to me. Not all that familiar in terms of my own family, but recognizably real. Yes, the parents are disappointed in their kids -- and they have a right to be -- but that's life. And they still love them. Yes, the parents are in the last chapter of their lives, and they know it, and they're dealing with it the best they can. One false note all the way through was the number of beautiful women available to the younger son. Oh well. It's a movie and that pays for the tickets, I know. Overall, a well told story I will recommend to family and friends.

The theme of aging parents, Alzheimers and other diseases has been literally done to death. This movie wastes a lot of opportunities to be different but just seems to wither away midway through the film....and ultimately die. It makes one wonder was what the point of rehashing this theme yet again! To put it simply.....it just doesn't work!

Boring. Plain. Not comedy at all. Nothing smart, nothing funny, nothing to keep you awake while watching. Just wasted time.

I enjoy much of how the story flow has been set. Maybe it is not as fun and hillarious as "500 summer" - It's not that kind either. But, personally I can feel the emotion that been delivered - by each actors and actress. It's just.. enjoyable and worth to watch, even twice - at least by myself as an audience.

"A Short History of Decay" is a funny, heartbreaking glimpse into our aging, our loves and our losses. There are so many touching moments that have stayed with me - the two grown brothers, sharing their childhood room, who have a fistfight and their mother tells them to settle down, the parents having a party with the mother's manicurist, the painting that Nathan hangs in his parents apartment. At the same time I found myself drawn to the painful portrait of the judgmental father whose sons continue to disappoint him. Beautiful and funny performances by Linda Lavin and Harris Yulin, and a wonderfully drawn sympathetic son, Bryan Greenberg. I think this film will be seen the way "The Squid and The Whale" has been seen – as an iconic look at an ordinary family.