Reno Rangan
It was something different, if you are fed up with the same old, the same old storylines keep repeating in all the Hollywood films. That made me keep watching it. Never was boring, but definitely should have been better in the overall story section. Because it looks more a cinematic than the real. Especially Owen Wilson character. Only fools let him near them as whatever happened in the film. But that's quite perfected since Zach's role was close to one.This is about two friends, one works in a new channel and the other one a hippie. When one of their rich father dies, they return to the hometown, that's going to change their fortune forever. But within siblings, a conflict arises and in the following events told how everything unfolds. I liked the cast. It was a wonderful combination. It was a comedy, though not a hard hitting one, neither a message film. Just a timepass film. For once watching, it is not a bad at all.6/10
Michael Ledo
Steve Dallas (Owen Wilson) is a shallow weather man for an Annapolis, Md. station. He is the best friend of Ben Baker (Zach Galifianakis) a scruffy bipolar paranoid pot smoker, i.e. Zach Galifianakis type cast. He is also a "yellow belt" and is writing a book in a spiral notebook. When Ben's father passes away, Steve returns with him to Lancaster, Pa. where we meet Ben's unlikeable sister Terri (Amy Poehler), and his young "back to nature" step-mom Angela (Laura Ramsey).The story goes off in different directions. There is a sibling estate fight. We have shallow Steve falling for the step-mom who sees through him. Then there is Ben's mental health and desire to create a utopian society starting with his farm.The film had some good scenes as one might expect in a Zach Galifianakis film. Owen Wilson, or at least his character put a dampener on the whole film whose theme was...friendship? The ending really didn't tie things together and Steve was such a plastic character, you never wish for any success for him.Okay as a Red Box rental- Magnolia film substitute.Parental Guide: F-bomb. Nudity (Melanie Ratcliff, Alana De La Garza-TV actress, Laura Ramsey-brief nudity)
ejonconrad
This is an interesting movie, and far from perfect, but it has a certain charm and in the end I enjoyed it.First of all, the movie is not a comedy, or really even a "dramedy". There are a few laughs at the beginning, but by halfway through, it becomes a straight drama.It also starts out looking like it's going to be a straight up formula movie, but it ends up (mostly) avoiding that, and I really didn't know how it was going to the end.The centerpiece of the movie was Zach Galifianakis' performance as a man suffering from manic depression. The movie avoids the usual Hollywood tendency to romanticize the issue, and ends up portraying it in a very grown up and believable way.Owen Wilson gives a good performance, too, but his role is a little more clichéd and predictable.The bottom line is I wouldn't have paid money to see this, but it was a decent way to pass a couple hours on Netflix.
londahayden
I was expecting this to be funnier than what was delivered. Granted, other folks may have found it very comical, but I'm a harder sell. I'm a big fan of all the leading cast members and although they each did a good job acting, the story itself fell a little short in my humble opinion. I feel the profanity could have been omitted in most cases and probably should have been. This would have made the show more family friendly and could have broadened the audience base. Most of the time the omission of profanity makes things even funnier. The overall innocence of circumstances present a more comical scenario for the audience to enjoy. I hope the film makers keep this in mind for future projects. After about the first 30 or so minutes, I started to lose interest because again, the story simply was too predictable and fell short. A shame since the A-list actors involved deserved a better script. Maybe the writing should be left up to them next time. Just a thought.
AD
