scipantheist

I've seen this film two times now, and each time this film has reduced me to tears. I can't think of a single film that so honestly portrays mental disability and at the same time the hight of human compassion. Hoffman is absolutely incredible, and even more surprisingly so is Tom Cruise. I think anybody, even a person as macho as Tom Cruise, ought to come away from this film with a sense of happiness at the power of brotherly love. One of the greatest films I have seen.

This is a fantastic film, not because it is so funny, but because it holds back very little and gives its audience a story that we can actually respond to. This film is not and should not be a guilty pleasure because it so well demonstrates the problems with today's society. From the right angle, this bad santa is clearly as much of a hero as any Hercules and we should all incorporate some more of his free-spirited antics.

For anyone who has studied Taoism, Willie's heroic nature is immediately apparent. He embodies the concept of Wu-Wei (doing by non-doing) in a powerful way. Simply put, because Willie leads his life at the lowest common denominator (he eats, drinks, and screws whenever he feels like it) he cannot possibly not gain from life at every turn. By the end of the movie, he has a girlfriend, a family, and a job, all seemingly without effort. This is powerful wisdom from over 2000 years ago, and it is refreshing to see a movie embody it so well.

I would like to challenge everyone who liked this film to read the following description of a real life disease, Bordetella pertussis, otherwise known as whooping cough:

"Attacks of a choking cough that lasts from 1 to 2 minutes, often with vomiting, severe facial congestions and a feeling or appearance of suffocation. These choking attacks of coughing happen as little as twice a day or as many as fifty.'Whooping' is a noise that comes from the voice box after a paroxysm when the sufferer is suddenly able to take a breath in again. Sometimes the patient stops breathing after a severe bout of coughing, long enough to go blue. Occasionally the patient faints as well."

This description from WhoopingCough.net goes on to say that the disease lasts up to 3 months in Adults and can be fatal in children. Most modern treatments are ineffective at alleviating the symptoms.

Now my question to you is, why would anyone make a film so boring as this one when there are a host of REAL horror stories that are more interesting?