lorriebeauchamp
I just caught this quirky movie on Netflix. Yet another exploration of the ennui that surrounds celebrity status, this is a great little gem that showcases Spacey's talents well. It came very close to being great, but stopped short, I suspect because of bad decisions in direction and editing. Characters were brought in (Robin Williams being one) for side stories which never quite connected to the main plot. Pot addiction is shown as a series of untimely naps, which is not realistic. The audience never gets a glimpse into the main character's despair, or the circumstances surrounding his wife's death. A love interest is developed and then never followed through. Characters walk in and out of the story without strong reasons. The ending is trite, as if they just needed to wrap it up. Too many loose ends, and a waste of some good talent. Nonetheless, because of Spacey (and a nod to the well-developed friendship with his drug dealer, that was fun to watch) I hung in there happily right to the end.
TxMike
Saw this via Netflix streaming video.Kevin Spacey is PhD psychologist Henry Carter, with a practice in Los Angeles. He sees not only local "stars", he also sees the ordinary guys. But Henry has a problem, since his wife's death he isn't really present, emotionally, and has resorted to a slovenly life and smoking lots of pot every chance he gets. The story is about Henry, and how he might get his mojo back, but also about an assorted cast of characters, all connected to Henry through his practice. And then, some of them interconnected with each other, although few of them know each other as the movie begins. One is teenager Keke Palmer as high school student Jemma. She is bright but completely unmotivated by school. One time we see her actually get up and leave class, over the objections of her teacher. Where does she go? To the theater, to watch movies, that is what she wants to do, make movies. Henry sees her pro bono. They have positive influences on each other.Another is Saffron Burrows as Kate Amberson, she and her partner attend sessions with Henry, but it soon becomes clear that her partner is a jerk, and it is a matter of time before she is free to eventually pursue something with Henry and help him out of his funk. Another is Pell James as Daisy, pregnant and working for a movie producer. But the baby isn't hers. it is her sister's, she is just carrying it for her. As she says, "She provided the egg, I provide the oven." But she too really wants to get out on her own to produce movies. I enjoyed it for the characters, there is nothing novel about any of the stories, but they are presented in an interesting way.
christianvillagomez
First of all I've been very aware of how critics gave this film lackluster reviews yet I beg to differ, and thankfully so do most people rating this on IMDb. It's essentially a Hollywood dramedy revolving around the couple of individual lives including Dr. Henry Carter played oh so charismatically and sharply by Kevin Spacey with many other characters such as Jeremy, an ongoing writer played by Mark Webber and Jemma: an emotionally struggling teenager girl played by the very identifiable star Keke Palmer. Be aware though, I watched this on T.V and was very close to passing this up due to it's not-so-appealing 2/4 star rating on Dish but I really felt like I needed to see this at least once due to its interesting premise and after watching it I was proud to say to myself that it exceeded beyond any short-term expectations I may have had for it at the moment. The most identifiable trait that really characterized it is that it may be just over an hour-and-a-half but it feels just over 2 hours, most people would assume that's a bad thing and would immediately go on to bash it for its slow pace, I prefer to call it STEADY pacing since the characterizations are done so right considering director Jonas Pate's very realistic and, should I say, very TRANQUIL style. You really hang on throughout this whole journey of a movie embracing what next step each of these people have to face in their lives and I couldn't help but feel satisfied by the end of the movie, which is indeed the sure plus way of knowing it was a good movie wait, change that: a fantastic movie.
robertwilli
Once again anything that Kevin Spacey touches is usually gold. The narcissist story line runs throughout. It is for you to decide which character cares only for themselves the most but don't worry most will get a blast of humanity.Especially enjoyable is the father son relationship between Henry Carter, Spacey, and his father, Robert Loggia. The dynamic of an old school Psychiatrist, Loggia, to a "Therapist to the Stars", Spacey, is both funny and painful some at the same time.The out reach of Henry to the young Jemma, Keke Palmer, is the true plot line that runs the movie forward. Watching them try to build a relationship is deeply moving at times and even more so into the climax. No big twists but a pleasant ride!
AD
