Jim Riley
If you were to film a row of country mailboxes with their lids flapping open and shut over several weeks it would be roughly as interesting as this movie -- and far more credible.Ashton Kutcher plays a big, silent, slow-talking wrestler who can't communicate his feelings about his murdered sister, except to subject himself to dangerous bench-press challenges, alone in the training room. He remains about this communicative for the first sixty minutes of the film, and he appears to waver between "half-wit" and "strong silent type" (really, REALLY silent type) for so long, you get the impression the screenwriter couldn't quite decide what to do with human clay before him.That's where Michelle Pfeiffer comes along, with lines so pedestrian ("I work at the community center", "I cry at weddings") they seem geared to stay within her range of performance, and yet she still can't manage them. Believe it or not, she makes Ashton Kutcher look something like an actor.Very miss-able. I still don't know how it ends.
bsmtpa
I usually don't watch Lifetime movies but it was a rare Saturday Night that i was home.. nothing else was on...the tube... Turned to Lifetime and saw an original TV film with Michelle Pfeifer was about to begin.."Personal Effects" The minute it stated I was hoooked... Love Michelle Pfeifer and she was excellent in the role of a somewhat older woman who falls for (through various circumstances) a younger man, played by Aston Kutcher ..now I've heard of him but had never (i thought seen him act ) Not only is he good looking and a"hunk" but he can really act he played the part of a confused somewhat depressed young man so well..I felt so sympathetic towards him ..Excellent performance know now, thanks to IMDb.that he's married to Demi Moore, and I did see him in "Bobby" and possibly the "70's Show". He was wonderful as was Michelle and the entire cast including Kathy Bates in another unbelievably good performance as "Kutcher's mom . Very adult quite graphic ,a bit violent but very well done and well acted.. The plot has a few implausabilities and was a bit confusing but stick with it... One of the best made for TV films I've seen in awhile Shown on the Lifetime Network
batispexa
I expected this film to be awful and it turned out to be decent. This is not the best film I've seen last several months, but I have certainly seen worse. It is a bit more pretentious that it can deliver. But all in all I think it deserves rating between 5 and 7, depending on a taste of a viewer. It is nice to watch and though sometimes it is too predictable and dialog sucks, it still touches you. I wish it was done better, it could've been. i liked grey color. Music was sickly sometimes. acting was good. Who would've thought that pretty boy Ashton could act? I would recommend this movie if you like drama, slow-pace, better-than- mediocre photography and don't have anything to do.
Jackpollins
I've always wanted to see Ashton Kutcher in a drama. Sadly, his first drama is the complete piece of garbage, Personal Effects. Kutcher plays a man who plans to get revenge on the person who recently killed his sister. He meets a woman named Linda (Michelle Pfeiffer). This sets out a creepy relationship between a 24 year old and a 40 or 50-ish something year old. Kutcher and Pfeiffer are both at their worst, portraying stupid and unlikable characters. The movie is slow and boring, making me look at my watch every second. I didn't believe a second of the movie, these two people probably wouldn't be talking to each other, more or less falling in love with each other. Kathy Bates play Walter (Kutcher)'s mom, Gloria, and even a great actress like Bates is terrible in this movie. The film never lets a single actor show how good they are. It drifts into a painful thriller out of nowhere, as Kutcher seeks revenge. I thought this would be out of the movie, but apparently the movie is trying to have as many bad plots as possible for it. By the end, I just wanted to get away from this movie and its characters. It's too bad, too, this could have been a great mix of genres, but instead it is just dull. Do yourself a favor and skip Personal Effects.
AD
