The Size of Watermelons

I have sampled and loved this movie for a long time. There is an understated elegance to the comedy.

I originally saw 'The Size of Watermelons' back in the late 90's when it hit VHS to date myself. I was a big fan of the 'Halloween' series at the time and Paul Rudd had appeared in the sixth entry in '95 which had something to do with seeing this. I remember thinking this movie was hilarious. I still appreciate its charm all these years later, but question what my younger self found so funny.

I think back then I found the characters zany and off-the-wall. I had no basis to understand them. To me the whole proceedings were some crazy not-real-life acid trip of a comedy. The fact of the matter is this movie perfectly captures a certain subset of young people at a standstill in the 90's. It just took me being older to recognize it. No focus, no deep drive. Wasting time. Failed relationships. Attending film school or playing music. Too much beer, too much coffee. Getting lost in fantasies about being in the biz, reading Variety, but not doing anything to make it happen.

Paul Rudd & Donal Logue give dialed in performances. Alex (Rudd) meanders around with his "bad haircut" and a fondness for getting beat up. Gnome (Logue) who's a big talker bordering on obnoxious with a fractured type of charisma and balls "the size of watermelons". They follow each other around. Talk about doing an alternative B&W political documentary about Gnome and his views on the illegal annexation of Hawaii.

By the end none of it matters. Things fall apart and you move on. You grow up. That's life. A decent throwback movie that's not for everyone, but I enjoyed it then & now. Recommended for fans of Rudd & Logue.

I find this movie to be really funny on many, many levels. Sure, I think it's a bit much at times, but there are so many great moments in this movie! Also, it reminds me of my college days as both a punk and a theatre major who partied way too much with way too many weird people like Gnome. I guess it's all this truth that I see within this movie that draws me to it, and I frankly enjoy the inner-dialogs. It's evidence of the naive yet self-centered people we were at the time.

If you're looking for a good movie that doesn't demand too much of your own psyche to understand it, then give this movie a watch - besides, Donal Logue's performance is NOT to be missed! He has the best part in the entire movie.

Does anyone know if they filmed this in Vancouver?

This movie was terrible on so many levels. It's basically a rip off of Kevin Smith's life. It's about a slacker who can't figure out what to do in life. So he decides to make a movie but has no idea how. I know there's a bit more to this movie but after the first 50 minutes I stopped watching. I don't know how Kevin Smith could allow this to be made. It's like watching the making of Clerks or something. Witless dialogue, stiff acting and just painful to watch. The only interesting character was Patrick played by Donovan Leitch.

So overall don't waste your time on this unless you have never heard of Kevin Smith, seen a Kevin Smith movie or you just like lame half-assed slacker movies. Which i guess you can't expect much from.

This movie has become quite hard to find lately, but if you do find it (most likely on a region 4 DVD... Australians seem to be the only ones who still care for it) then it is definitely worth watching. I majored in art and lived on the Venice beachfront for a while when I was younger, and I feel this movie captures the atmosphere of my early 20s. The plot itself is nothing to write home about, but the good performances, quirky live music and the very 90s feeling of it all more than make up for it. Also, Paul Rudd's cuteness and adorableness is at a high here.