Answers to Nothing

TMG says titles to movies can often be telling. Answers to Nothing? Yeah? Well let me tell you. When I see a film, I want answers to at least one thing—like why I spent my time and money suffering through it. If you are too happy for the holidays and just feel good about life in general, then go see this film. It will turn you around quick. If I want to be this depressed, I can take a handful of Valium and watch reruns of Nancy Pelosi speeches.

Why so many movie producers and screen writers are just dying to load us all up with piles of depression, cynicism and angst is beyond me. It is the same affliction that hits many country western singers. If you are among the three, whacked out northern Vermonters who were inspired by Melancholia, by all means, take your friends at the Jack Kevorkian Society to see this film.

For starters, there is no plot or storyline. You simply have a depressed guy named Ryan (Cook) in a loathsome affair trying to gather sperm for his wife Kate (Mitchell) to have a baby and deal with her own, tragic inadequacies. All around him are vignettes of people with atrocious insecurities, hangups and severe mental illness. Worse, you later learn Ryan is a mental health therapist treating one of them. You pretty much have a pyromaniac tending the fire department here. The most pointed line of the film is Ryan's estranged Dad advising him "In human relations, kindness and lies are worth a thousand truths." I think he was quoting the Bible according to Tammy Faye & Jim Baker.

There was some hope because their is one subplot of a guy who kidnapped a young girl and an interesting twist that resolves that situation. There is one funny scene of Allegra (not allergy medicine, thought this young black gal is sort of allergic to everyone for awhile) doing an obsessive-compulsive thing trying to sugar her ice tea through a straw. But that is about it. There is a guy pretending to be a cop woven in here, but it makes no sense.

At the end, nothing is resolved and nothing is really answered. The writers should have stayed with the kidnapped little girl theme more. It had some promise. Nothing else did. I bet you anything a lot of mentally unstable people and a few manic, tree huggers around Boulder, Colorado or tripping down State Street in Madison, Wisconsin will proclaim this to be a great and inspirational film. Hence, my analysis will be proved correct.

The trailer says this film is about "choices that define us." Indeed. One might be choose to see a better film this holiday season.

I saw this film at the Napa Film Festival and was blown away! Dane Cook is not someone I would normally peg as a great actor but this guy has the chops. Major acting skills here. I didn't even think about it being Dane Cook at all the whole film. I was totally engrossed in his story line. However, this film is not just about Dane Cook's storyline his is only one of many which is one of the reasons I liked the film so much. There are about 5 different main characters which you follow as you watch the film and they all intersect through out the movie. Not the most original idea ala Crash or Magnolia...but this film pulls it off. The movie moves smoothly from scene to scene and there is a big climax at the end that I wasn't expecting. There is some great acting talents in this film. Unknown and known actors, TV, film actors and newbies. The music in the film is also fantastic and I will be buying the soundtrack to this one for sure.

Answers to Nothing is that rare combination of an ensemble cast grappling with life's complexities without descending into heavy handed storytelling. It both lifts you up and crushes you down as you recognize the various shades of yourself in the characters. I have been weary of ensemble dramas like this since the manipulative'Crash', but I felt the director and cast did a superb job and the emotion really builds to something tangible and rewarding. The singer Aja Volkman of 'Nico Vega'provides an emotional charge right through the film and Mad Men actor Mark Kelly gives a great turn as a gamer/High School teacher out for justice. Great film - highly recommended.

"I'm buried in the armor, I'm an iron man." After a child is abducted this movie deals with the following five days and a group of people including the single mom who is investigating the case. Her sister (Mitchell) who wants to get pregnant badly but her husband (Cook) is cheating on her. A school teacher who is obsessed with finding the missing girl. An alcoholic who is taking care of her wheel chair bound brother and a self hating black woman who wants to fall in love. I have to begin by saying that this is not a movie for everyone. Very slow moving in some parts and not a happy movie at all. That said I really enjoyed this. Dane Cook is a huge surprise in this role and is actually a very good dramatic actor. This movie shows how each person is somehow intertwined in each other's lives and how one life effects the other. While not nearly as good as "Crash" it does have that type of feel to it. This is a movie that you must be in the mood for and is a struggle at first, but the last half hour makes you glad you stuck with it. Overall, the type of movie that leaves you thinking about it long after it is over. I recommend this. I give it a B.

Coming in to this movie, I thought it was going to be multiple peoples stories that all come together at the climax of the film. This did not happen. Each characters story is very compelling on their own and everyone is loosely connected to each other, but they don't make up one story as a whole. I felt like the movie was building up to the climax of them all impacting the finding the missing girl, but this is not the case. Only about 4 characters, out of a dozen, impact what could be called the climax, and I feel like the 4 that do had the least screen time. Overall, if you get invested into each and every character, the movie maintains interest. I would have rather seen each characters' story as its own short film rather than thrown into this hodgepodge of lives. If you enjoy movies like Crash or a much darker version of that comedy Valentine's Day, then you might like this.

PS: Dane Cook gives a surprisingly great performance.