christophercurtiskelley
Joined Nov 2012
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Reviews2
christophercurtiskelley's rating
I'm not sure what the good folks at Netflix were thinking when categorizing this film, but it's certainly not a comedy. Nate & Margaret is a character study of the eponymous duo, and it is not funny.
Positive: The film shines in its realistic depictions of mundane social interactions. The dialogue seems unsatisfying at first, but it's actually spot-on in depicting casual exchanges (both short and overly drawn-out) as opposed to the tighter, snappier dialogue audiences are more accustomed to. Alos, Nate & Margaret's cinematography is not overly artistic, but rather impressively unintrusive. It displays restraint uncommon in a first-time director.
Negative: This movie is as funny as a $40,000 chemotherapy bill. You can tell the moments where you were supposed to laugh, but these moments feel empty and sad. It's like you're a fly on the wall of the theater during the first screening, and you can see the director's family members forcing a laugh. It leaves you wanting to pull the director aside and give him examples of real comedy (Mel Brooks, Harold Reimis, even Judd Apatow if that's how you choose to live your life).
The film is rife with musical interludes that don't serve any purpose other than maybe draw out the runtime. There are at least three continuous musical tracks at the opening, three different tracks that all sound like DVD menu screen music.
The plot or narrative arc is unclear. The audience misses out on the parts of the characters' development that would be most interesting, then it sort of ends. In between there are a lot of scenes that frankly we can't say belong or don't belong because we can't tell what the director was trying to say. Friends are good? Relationships are... a mixed bag? No clue.
Readers: save yourself an hour and eighteen minutes. Director: Keep working, man, you're going places some day. Try something more traditional before you break the rules.
Positive: The film shines in its realistic depictions of mundane social interactions. The dialogue seems unsatisfying at first, but it's actually spot-on in depicting casual exchanges (both short and overly drawn-out) as opposed to the tighter, snappier dialogue audiences are more accustomed to. Alos, Nate & Margaret's cinematography is not overly artistic, but rather impressively unintrusive. It displays restraint uncommon in a first-time director.
Negative: This movie is as funny as a $40,000 chemotherapy bill. You can tell the moments where you were supposed to laugh, but these moments feel empty and sad. It's like you're a fly on the wall of the theater during the first screening, and you can see the director's family members forcing a laugh. It leaves you wanting to pull the director aside and give him examples of real comedy (Mel Brooks, Harold Reimis, even Judd Apatow if that's how you choose to live your life).
The film is rife with musical interludes that don't serve any purpose other than maybe draw out the runtime. There are at least three continuous musical tracks at the opening, three different tracks that all sound like DVD menu screen music.
The plot or narrative arc is unclear. The audience misses out on the parts of the characters' development that would be most interesting, then it sort of ends. In between there are a lot of scenes that frankly we can't say belong or don't belong because we can't tell what the director was trying to say. Friends are good? Relationships are... a mixed bag? No clue.
Readers: save yourself an hour and eighteen minutes. Director: Keep working, man, you're going places some day. Try something more traditional before you break the rules.
It's a pretty harmless flick. I went into it expecting it to make me kind of sad (at how bad it might be), but there's a smattering of originality in the writing and enough excitement from the actors to lend it a sort of magic that makes it too fun to hate.
Sure, it's awkward, has a few scenes that linger too long, and generally doesn't make sense, but it's better than your general Hallmark tripe. It has plenty of dad-style jokes to make you yuk-yuk-yuk in spite of yourself, and it has cute visuals. I think my 5-year-old niece will like it.
I recommend it to anyone who can lighten up, anyone who likes weed, anyone who likes to riff, and anyone with chill kids who love dogs and Christmas.
Sure, it's awkward, has a few scenes that linger too long, and generally doesn't make sense, but it's better than your general Hallmark tripe. It has plenty of dad-style jokes to make you yuk-yuk-yuk in spite of yourself, and it has cute visuals. I think my 5-year-old niece will like it.
I recommend it to anyone who can lighten up, anyone who likes weed, anyone who likes to riff, and anyone with chill kids who love dogs and Christmas.