YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS
RATING: 6 / 10 --> Barely recommendable
Review Date:
September 13, 1998
Director:
Neil LaBute
Writer:
Neil LaBute
Producers:
Steve Golin and Jason Patric
Actors:
Aaron Eckhart as
Barry
Amy Brenneman as Mary
Ben Stiller as Jerry
Catherine Keener as Terri
Nastassja Kinski as Cheri
Jason Patric as Cary
Genre:
Drama
Year of Release: 1998
Neil LaBute follows his
critically acclaimed indie sensation from 1997, IN THE COMPANY OF
MEN, with a broader look at relationships and the innappropriate
behaviour of adults in contemporary society.
PLOT:
This film follows the lives of three couples: one married, one
living together, and two singles. We waltz through their everyday
lives, and listen in on their private dinners, sauna sessions and
the multitude of discussions about sex, life and the ups and
downs of relationships.
CRITIQUE:
Annoying character study starts off with some thought-provoking
ideas, but eventually turns into a dialogue driven film that
doesn't provide the audience with any one character to give half
a crap about. I liked this movie at first because it seemed to
bring up some interesting queries likely to be discussed with my
better half later on that night. But soon enough, it downshifted
into another boring tale about the immoral actions of many of the
"bad" people in today's society, and the self-centered
nature of life in these awful modern times. Unfortunately for me,
I could not stand to watch a film that spend the entire hour and
a half studying people who apparently don't feel much, have
little conscience, and whine incessantly. If it were only one or
two of them who didn't know what they wanted out of sex and/or
their relationships, then I might've been able to let it slide,
but when all six characters spend the entire runtime kvetching
about their uselessness as human beings. Well, let me tell
you...it just got irritating.
Having said that, the acting was rock-solid on all sides, with
special kudos to Eckhart and Keener. But the real standout was
Jason Patric (who also produced this film) whose performance is
one of the best of his wobbly career. He played this prick to
perfection, and really pulled out all of the stops during one
confrontation scene with Keener in the bookstore (chilling). His
cool performance is definitely one of the reasons that I would
barely recommend this film despite its repetitive nature, lack of
redeeming quality and unresolved ending.
Another reason to see this film is the hilarious opening credit
score that features a warped acoustic version of Metallica's
"Sandman" song. And, oh yes, none of the characters in
this film call each other by their names because director Labute
apparently wants us to be able to recognize these people within
ourselves and others. Well, guess what? Despite seeing little
aspects of people I know in some of the folks in this movie, the
general lack of morals, compassion, feeling and humanity (Kubrick
anyone?) gave me very little reason to care or even appreciate
any of the lives of these people. It made the film unbelievable,
boring and most importantly, unentertaining.
PS: Mrs. JoBlo cared even less about any of the characters in
this film, and gave it an even 5/10.
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars:
Director Neil LaBute is a mormon.
Aaron
Eckhart was also the
star of LaBute's first big-screen picture, IN THE COMPANY OF MEN.
Amy
Brenneman's mother is
a superior court judge.
Catherine
Keener has starred in
all four of indie-director Tom DiCillo's films.
Nastassja
Kinski's real name is
Nastassja Naksyznyski. She spent some days in a German prison
when a sin of youth caught up with her. She had used public
transportation several times without paying, hadn't paid the
fines, and hadn't worked in a hospital as she was sentenced to do
by a juvenile court. In 1978 she was finally arrested. She spent
5 days in prison despite being a celebrity at that time. After
five days she was released early because of good conduct.
Jason
Patric's real name is
Jason Miller Jr., son of actor Jason Miller (who played the priest in the original
EXORCIST (7.5/10) movie). Jason is also the grandson of legendary
actor Jackie
Gleason, and was
married to actress Robin Wright for two years from 1988 to 1990.
(c) 1998 Berge Garabedian
Movie Reviews by Berge Garabedian