Theodore Keating
I don't really like the idea of comparing the book to the movie, but in this case I find it inevitable. I read the book and loved it, but the movie just doesn't have the same skill.... For one thing, the movie really downplayed the oddity of the everything that went on, which was really what made the memoir so detail-oriented and real, I think. But the people who made the movie just didn't have the same skill with *their* craft.... For one thing, it was a little off to cast an actor like Alec Baldwin to be the father, who had such a minimal role, really. It also seemed at times like too much emphasis was placed on the mother-- in film I suppose it's easier to place emphasis on an adult, rather than a child (a child actor), but the whole thing was supposed to be about Augusten....I really think they should have considered using voiceovers/narration by Augusten to give some depth to his point-of-view, giving something to his own narrations and insights like in the book, rather than just showing him on the edge of the scene.... Without that deep feel for the characters idiosyncrasies and the individuality of the memoirist, it's just.... boring. They just show flatly this one doing this and that one doing that, but there's just no real appreciation for how crazy it all was. .... It sounds stupid and obvious to say that it should have been more like the book, but it really should have been.(7/10)
carljessieson
Awful. This was horrible. A huge disappointment.I don't know if I can even write how bummed I am about this. I really, really loved the book and was incredibly stoked when I found out there was a movie.Let's do some comparisons: the movie was boring, the book was intriguing. The characters in the movie were ridiculous, rigid, as if they were trying to be exactly what the book said they were without any of the spirit that they had in the book. The conflicts in the book were enticing, made you hunger for more, the conflicts in the movie felt like a messy waste of time. I couldn't even feel anything while watching this movie, not a thing but disappointment, while the feelings evoked during reading were addicting and rendered me unable to close the book. Honestly, I'm not qualified to make this review, because I didn't even finish the movie. That's how awful it was. I left.One thing good about this movie that makes this one scene worth watching: Gwyneth Paltrow. Honestly, usually she's forgettable. I don't often care much for her, but in this one scene, I can't help it. If you're gonna watch this movie, look out for Paltrow in the scene where she's cooking stew. I could not look away. Her acting in this scene is absolutely remarkable. I truly have a lot more respect for her than I did before. Right as I'm writing this, I can only name one other movie where I've seen her..but I doubt I'll ever be able to forget this scene.Don't watch the movie, ever. Go read the book. Augusten Burroughs is an amazing story-teller, Ryan Murphy is not.
Russ
I think this is literally the worst movie I have ever seen. A meandering "story" about a bunch of 70's flakes too busy feeling sorry for themselves and popping pills to pull their own heads out of their asses. There was no one to root for. After two hours, I just kept praying that someone, anyone would die or be killed. I hated them all and they all got exactly what they deserved. If anyone ever tries making you watch this, RUN AWAY. Was I supposed to feel sorry for these people? I just hated them all. They were all a product of their own stupidity. Never have I seen a film so devoid of likable characters. Who gave the green light for this odious piece of dog waste?
tnmtnduo
During the first 20 minutes or so of this movie I found myself chuckling under my breath with barely restrained maniacal glee. The humor was so darkly offbeat and felt so familiar that I anticipated a fun, altho' most likely really weird, ride for the rest of the film. But then something happened that I didn't see coming. The movie started to get to me. At first in a subtle and then more pronounced way I became more and more involved in the characters and in the storyline. At times I was so bothered by what was transpiring on the TV screen that I almost wanted to watch with my hands over my eyes, as I would while viewing a frightening horror film. At the end of this movie I found myself sitting ramrod straight on the edge of my chair, my hands in fists at my side, unable to stop myself from succumbing to uncontrollable sobs. No one could have been more surprised than I with my reaction. In fact, I embarrassed myself and was thankful no one else was home to see me blubbering like an idiot in my living room. In retrospect I am unable to decide who I related most to in this movie, perhaps a little with each one of them, in different and undefinable ways. I will never want to watch this film again, and was unable to finish the book, but that doesn't mean that I didn't like this movie. I may have liked it, I may have hated it...I can't decide; but I do know for certain that it ripped band-aids off wounds I didn't realize I had.
AD
