Angela Peckham
What's broken in this film is the part where there are two believable characters who do something interesting together. This film has trouble with both likability and credibility, perhaps because they seemingly stole their plot from the bowels of a fortune cookie. On the one hand, we're looking for love in all the wrong places. On the other hand, we're loving ourselves in order to be loved. And these tired little anecdotes... just ugh. For her part, the director compounds these weaknesses by not understanding how to flesh out a character. She stereotypes the mother. She mishandles the circumstances of romance. She cuts moments that would have helped with character motivation (see deleted scenes); instead, wasting time on a series of lousy, boring dates that fly from one farce of a scene to the next. Parker Posey's character is the only one that isn't totally flubbed by hastiness. The film takes care in describing the anxieties that can impound a state of 30-something loneliness. The rhythms of being single are incisive, and underscored by a range of thoughtful, sympathetic details. But again, this isn't a vignette or portraiture; it's a full- length feature film that lacks the sophistication to be romantic.
jan-603
Dull, tedious story of a neurotic, marriage-fixated, anxiety-ridden alcoholic who somehow gets a great guy interested in her. I guess the moral of the story is "Life is so unfair"? Even worse than the shallow plot, trite dialog and phone-in acting is the grating "music" - I actually started turning down the volume whenever it was playing. It makes elevator music sound like Mozart! Not only was there little chemistry between the two leads, there was even less between the two so-called best friends. Don't casting agents check for that during try-outs? Only for die-hard fans of Posey, who does the best she can with the boring script. All others, stay away - there are so many better rom-coms: The American President, Love Actually, Lars and the Real Girl, You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle... almost anything is better than this one.
Edward Chan
Some films seem "long" because it demands the audience's attention at all times, others are so because the audience is bored. "Broken English" falls comfortably in the latter.I have a feeling, in making Broken English, Cassvetes sticks with "safe" grounds. The topic, the set, and the characters are nothing new to those familiar to the "chick flick" genre. Being an independent film, she could have been a little more bold in her story, but she was too worried about pleasing the judges than the audience.Instead, it is reduced to a "checklist" independent film. Lead role with obvious personality flaws - CHECK! Cheated by playboy celebrity - CHECK! Man in "sexy" accent - CHECK! Nice guy and gay friend - CHECK! Ethnic representation (Jewish, Hispanic, Asian, etc) - CHECK! Friend has secret psychological problems - CHECK! "Romantic" location for ending - CHECK!The interesting thing is, the broad brush Cassavetes used to paint the "typical" American woman: perpetual depression, distorted reality, aimlessly looking for "happiness" in the wrong places, fear disguised in a sense independence. Is this the message she is trying to convey?To sum up, "Broken English" tries to be groundbreaking, or topical, or both. But it ends up being a paint-by-number independent festival film. The distinction comes not from the satisfaction of the audience, but from the tick marks on the judges' evaluation forms. I hope films such as "Broken English" is not indicative of the trend in independent film making, but I am probably wrong.
wespain
Parker Posey and a generally good cast struggle against an underdone script. You can sort of see what the writer and director intended, but it doesn't really come off. In spite of Parker's best efforts, and they are quite fine, this film meanders along on its surface. People suffer in affluent, superficial ways. There's lots of whining about alienation and loneliness. Yet no one has any observable problems that warrant their apparent dysfunction. It's hard to feel much affinity for the spoiled, self-indulgent female friends who complain about their fates in a somewhat muddled fashion. This is a story where character development is essential, but nothing of the sort arrives in time to redeem the unlikeable best friends whose personal travails should evoke interest and sympathy from the audience.
AD
