Meet Bill

Aaron Eckhart made this movie, as one of the previous comments said. Other than that, it was all a bit too awkward a movie to call well made. The story is pretty much about a middle aged guy discovering that his career choices make him miserable and how he find his way out without the violence and social satire in American Beauty.

It is a decent comedy, not too bad as some suggested, but certainly not memorable. Jessica Alba plays a medium sized role and Elizabeth Banks looks totally hot.

Bottom line: see it when you feel like watching a light movie, it will be more fun for people approaching middle age than for teens and it can be a great movie to watch with the wife.

Bill or Meet Bill is one of the most entertaining movies I've seen lately and it goes a bit beyond entertainment... So, who is Bill? Bill is someone who suddenly realizes he has a miserable life, he's in his 40's married to a beautiful woman, but who is cheating on him,his body is seriously unfit which causes a major lack of confidence and self esteem and on top of that he hates his job and the fact that he is working to his father-in-law. Not hard to relate,right?Bill almost against his will ends up joining a mentoring program and becomes the mentor of a 15 year old kid and that's when it all starts.Obviously the kid turns out to be the real mentor in the relationship, he is smart, he is sexy, he is absolutely confident and like bill says in the end he has it all figured out. The cast is great, but Aaron Eckhart and Logan Lerman are undeniably amazing and so is their chemistry on screen. I am not sure what Eckhart does but the audience(myself included) always love his characters, just watch Thank You For Smoking. And Logan, wow, the kid is talented, he acts like he is 18, not 15 or 16.I have to mention the BEAUTIFUL Elizabeth Banks, she was very good in her role and of course,Jessica Alba, who lightened up the screen.

Bill doesn't fit into comedy neither into drama .It has many elements of both genres and its exactly what a movie should be. Surprises me the poor rating...

8.5/10

I'm not much of a comedy fan, mostly because in recent years they've strayed too far into smart-ass one-liner dumb-formula potty-humor cardboard-cutout territory, which is fine if you like that sort of thing, but I don't.

This, though, is an old-fashioned comedy with heart. Can Bill make his life better with the help of a precocious teen? Sure he can. But the way he gets there isn't just the standard formula, and that makes it a fun watch.

It also helps that the technical work is all top-notch, and the supporting cast is pitch perfect, from the staid father-in-law to the somewhat manic doughnut franchisers.

This isn't a movie that will make you guffaw and belly laugh for an hour and a half, but it does make you feel inspired and offers a few chuckles along the way. In that regard, it reminds me of "Charlie Bartlett," "Juno" and "Rocket Science."

I'm glad this style of comedy didn't die out because of the Farrelly Brothers' success. Their kind of comedy is redundant and dumb -- this type leaves you happy for a while. And Hollywood should do that more often.

Aaron Eckhart, suave and manicured, is surprisingly effective in role as middle-aged sad sack Bill, a disgruntled, directionless human resources executive at his father-in-law's bank who's stuck in a loveless marriage to cheating spouse Elizabeth Banks. The tone of this character portrait is half black comedy and half satire, but Eckhart almost makes the lumpy journey worthwhile (he's an extremely courageous and focused actor, flexible but not a ham). Jessica Alba is fun as a friendly neighborhood salesgirl, but a subplot involving a mouthy teenage boy who chooses Bill to be his "mentor" is excruciating (a duck-hunting sequence with Bill's wife's family is also flabby). Screenwriter Melisa Wallack, who also co-directed with Bernie Goldmann, is careful to let Bill be his own person, but their ultimately victorious "I don't know where I'm going but I'm happy to be here" theme doesn't wash in the end. ** from ****

If you like Aaron Eckhart then you'll like this film. It's a departure from anything he's done in the past. Elizabeth Banks plays his wife, a beautiful, self obsessed, spoiled, rich bitch with no redeeming qualities except her looks and body. (It's VERY much the same role as she played in "The Baxter". She's really got this character type down and is carving a niche for herself in indie films.)

As I watched this movie, I thought that it reminded me of those indie films that I loved from the late 90's and early 2000's and how they just don't make them like this anymore. I didn't laugh all the way through this movie, but there were places where I chuckled (considerably) and I did have a smirk on my face for a good bit of the movie. (Think "The Ex" but not as funny.)

It a great Friday night, too tired to think, order a pizza and veg movie. And if you like indie films from a decade ago, then you'll be glad you rented this one.