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Post by Vanessa on Nov 30, 2010 0:29:58 GMT -5
PLUS. I sort of feel from reading the *gasp* script for the film (which I illegally and shamefully downloaded online) that the whole story sort of read like a cheesy, run of the mill, Hollywood cliched romantic comedy that I could watch anywhere in any decade. Reformed sleazer? Check. "Atypical" free spirit? Check. Gratuitous nudity, breast, and possible penis shot? Check. Lots of angst and professions of love in long, drawn out chase scenes? Check. BUT I'M STILL GOING TO WATCH IT AND KEEP AN OPEN MIND, DAMN IT. Yes, please KD. DAMN IT. Please keep an open mind & don't let anyone else's reviews influence you before you have even seen it. That's the main reason I won't read a script before I have seen the movie. Like Source Code. I have a pdf copy of it I got online a while back, but only for perusing it after I've seen the movie next year. I also refuse to read reviews before I have seen a movie as well. Otherwise I can go in to one & totally see it thru their eyes instead of my own & not enjoy it at all. LAOD is not really a true rom-com anyway. It is an emotional dramedy, if you will, & it is what it is. & I thoroughly enjoyed it for that, regardless of some cliches, supposed stereotypical behavior, & gratuitous sex, etc. OK, there's more of my 2 cents.
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Post by Prophecy Girl on Nov 30, 2010 12:11:45 GMT -5
Vanessa, I was actually nervous about your reaction to my review when I put it up. Because I knew you liked it and I knew you were going to be shaking your head in exasperation at me. Sometimes I feel like I'm ruining Jake for you, because all you wanted was a fun site, and then I radically changed course on you and let all of my emotional dirty laundry air in public. And it's not just you...I try to look at things from an outsider's perspective and I'm honestly amazed that anyone continues to read the blog at all because I know I come off as a bitter has-been who is never satisfied with anything!!! (Which is totally accurate.) ALL OF THAT SAID, the truth is that I (eek!) generally don't like (and never have liked) a lot of Jake's movies. I like him in them, and I enjoy getting excited about his enthusiasm for what he's portraying, but I often wonder why he chooses the roles he does. In this case, however, I actually *do* understand where he was coming from because I saw a lot of potential in the storyline. However, as is often the case, what you start out with and what you end up with aren't the same thing, and, unfortunately, I have gotten to the point where it is incredibly difficult for me to separate Jake from the part he plays (especially in this case, where he was more like himself than usual) and thus any gratuitous enjoyment that I might have otherwise wrung from my viewing experience was marred... I'm in the middle of a prolonged Facebook discussion with my friend Melissa (who lives in Pittsburgh) and she liked it a lot, but she wasn't expecting much going into it. I think I was expecting too much. I also think that had this movie come out 4 or 5 years ago, I would have loved it beyond words. So I know why people *would* like it, I just...didn't... I could copy and paste both of KD's comments because YES. THAT is what I feel! (KD, we are so clearly Jake soulmates!) We had so much hype, and then, for whatever reason, all the momentum died, and then the story (which was sold to us as anything *but* a stereotypical Hollywood romance) wound up being pretty much exactly that. And EXACTLY MY THOUGHTS on feeling bad for not loving it! Because I do! I feel like I'm letting everyone down! Jake included! What is wrong with me?! (Though I agree with Vanessa that you should ignore everything said in this thread or anywhere on the internet and go in with an open mind.) And because I'm curious (and since this is a spoiler thread), what did you guys think about Jake's brother in the film? I just didn't think he was funny, and the masturbation scene was so over the line... I'm not quite sure what he brought to the table...
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Post by Vanessa on Nov 30, 2010 12:39:09 GMT -5
FIRST LET ME WARN ANY OF YOU THAT HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE YET, THERE ARE A FEW SPOILERS HERE, SO YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED FIRST BEFORE READING FURTHER:Oh PG, if you didn't like it for what it was, that's not a big deal to me, I was just surprised that you didn't though, that's all. & like I said on the LAOD thread a few minutes ago, I didn't like it just because I am a Jake & Anne fan, I truly liked the storyline, period. But J&A made it excellent to me because of their chemistry & tremendous acting in it. Had other actors been in it instead, I still would have liked it, but maybe not as much, I really don't know.
As far as Josh, Jamie's brother, I think he was just comic relief due to the heavy emotional drama, & I could have done without some of his scenes, for sure. He was OK & made me laugh out loud a couple of times, but he was such a bumbling fool for the most part, it was just silly & not really necessary. That masturbation scene was just sick since he was watching the home video of his own brother. Ewwww. But I did like Jamie rushing back in the door, yanking out the tape & chasing him in the other room to beat him with it. I think maybe his grossness may have been there to help make Jamie look like a much better man. I have had a lot of life experiences for sure & have learned the hard way that men are generally very much like the Jamie character before they fall in love, if they ever do. So, I didn't see his character as a cad as much as was insinuated in the reviews or various synopsis that I have read. I felt like his character rang true to what most men truly are like whether they show it or not. & Anne being in the predicament she was in, being stricken with a horrible degenerative incurable disease at such a young age, really made me feel her anxiety, pain, & anguish. I completely understood her attitude towards just having casual sex & not wanting to get emotionally attached. Plus her constantly pushing Jamie away, but at the same time really wanting him to rush in & sweep her off her feet & declare his undying love for her. I could totally see that in so many of her expressions in several different scenes.
You did say you were planning to see it again, maybe next time, try watching it from a different perspective? It may not make any difference, but you may take away something different from it next time. Hard to say.
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lola
Fan
"When you are in Love you can't fall asleep because reality is better than your dreams."
Posts: 86
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Post by lola on Nov 30, 2010 23:21:33 GMT -5
I don't know what this says about me, but I found Jake's brother in the film funny. A lot of my laughs were from him, and thats the same for everybody else in my theater. In the sex tape scene everybody gasped when they saw what he was masturbating to, and laughed at the end when Jamie started to hit him with the tape.
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KD
Obsessed
I am the epitome of everything you wish not to be.
Posts: 297
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Post by KD on Dec 1, 2010 0:12:24 GMT -5
the sex tape part made me simultaneously cringe and laugh when i read the script.
*AGAIN, HAVE NOT YET WATCHED IT, DISREGARD WHAT I SAY, ETC*
I feel the same, Becky, but I genuinely feel I'll like Jamie, I'll like Maggie, I'll like Jamie AND Maggie, and that I will like Jake and Anne's acting and chemistry, but I'm not sure I'll like the film as a whole. It's up for me to see it and judge myself.
And I actually have to agree with Becky. A majority of Jake's films make me cringe. I have loved Jake in ALL of them, but I haven't necessarily liked all the films by its own tokens. For example, Highway, Lovely & Amazing, Moonlight Mile, The Good Girl, Proof, and Rendition. All of these movies were actually sort of exhausting to watch though for me...
And don't worry Becky. If we came to this site for Jake worshipping and blind devotion, I would have gone over to one of the more fanatic sites...not that' I'm going to name them. In case I am too subtle, I have a pretty dry, sarcastic, maybe twisted sense of humor in any case. It would take some extreme insensitivity to make me leave. LOL. That or general hatred for me from other members, which is entirely possible.
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Post by Prophecy Girl on Dec 1, 2010 19:29:28 GMT -5
Vanessa, I think you're spot on in your assessment of Jamie's brother, and I hadn't even thought of him being used a device to make Jamie look better. I will definitely continue the discussion after the second viewing! Lola, I think that just means you were more the movie's demographic than some of the rest of us!! ;D I admit that I, too, started laughing when Jake began beating him with the tape... KD, I'm so glad I'm not the only one!! "Exhausting" is such a good word for a lot of Jake's films. I think that's why I'm so conflicted about my feelings about LAOD. In a lot of ways, it's the opposite of most of movies he's been in...so why in the name of Jesus will nothing satisfy me??? Source Code better be awesome. ANYWAY, HAHAHA to everyone hating you!! I'd say it's unlikely, because dammit if we're not an honest group of people around here. Seriously, I'm incredibly thankful for our wonderful little group of intelligent and witty (and funny!) Jake fans who are as interested as I am in not taking Jake seriously and also diplomatically discussing his (many) flaws... Even just having this conversation is great. Thanks for indulging me, all of you.
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KD
Obsessed
I am the epitome of everything you wish not to be.
Posts: 297
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Post by KD on Dec 1, 2010 19:36:46 GMT -5
No problem. It's not as if it is a chore for me either! I always have to laugh when people take trivial things way too seriously...it's like reading Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" and NOT laughing the entire time, or Pride and Prejudice, because that novel is damn good and funny.
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Post by monicabbm on Dec 1, 2010 23:47:25 GMT -5
Suspect in Ronni Chasen Slaying Shoots SelfThompson on Hollywood The LA Times is reporting that around 6 PM Wednesday, as Beverly Hills police were serving a search warrant at a Hollywood Hotel on a man suspected to be connected to the slaying of publicist Ronni Chasen, the man shot himself. The identity of the man and the nature of his connection to Chasen were not reported.
The news started to circulate Wednesday night as guests read their smart phones at a Twentieth Century Fox party atop the Thomson Hotel as they celebrated the films Black Swan, Love & Other Drugs, 127 Hours and Conviction with studio chairman Tom Rothman, Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Jake Gyllenhaal, Melinda Leo, Ed Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz, Darren Aronofsky and Danny Boyle in attendance. It was the kind of award season party that Chasen would have happily been working. She is missed. blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2010/12/01/suspect_in_ronni_chasen_slaying_shoots_self/
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Post by monicabbm on Dec 2, 2010 18:03:16 GMT -5
Interview with Anne Hathaway: What drew you to this role as Maggie in Love and Other Drugs?
ANNE HATHAWAY: It was her. It was also the allure of Jake Gyllenhaal and director Edward Zwick. It was a difficult role. She is a really real character, given her diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease—knowing that her life is going to change and that she’s losing control over her body. Here’s a girl who has a truly compelling, compassion-inspiring reason for being the way she is. I loved the idea of getting to wear that skin.
You have great chemistry with Jake Gyllenhaal.
AH: If you don’t have chemistry with Jake Gyllenhaal, then there’s probably something wrong with you, because he is the most insanely charismatic man. All you have to do is listen to him and you’re instantly charmed.gotham-magazine.com/celebrities/articles/anne-hathaway-blows-us-away
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KD
Obsessed
I am the epitome of everything you wish not to be.
Posts: 297
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Post by KD on Dec 6, 2010 2:22:46 GMT -5
I WATCHED IT. WILL WRITE A REVIEW TOMORROW.
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Post by Vanessa on Dec 6, 2010 20:00:48 GMT -5
I WATCHED IT. WILL WRITE A REVIEW TOMORROW. FINALLY!!!!! I sure hope you did like it, so I don't feel like such a loner on this board. But if you didn't, then you didn't & I'll just have to be OK with it, dammit.
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KD
Obsessed
I am the epitome of everything you wish not to be.
Posts: 297
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Post by KD on Dec 6, 2010 23:01:26 GMT -5
SORRY EVERYONE. I'LL HAVE TO WRITE A REVIEW LATER. I won't have much time to participate here for a while. I'm currently dealing with a lot of family problems and financial issues and I need some time to reflect and figure out what to do. I'm so sorry! I'll be back though! I just need to get my sh*t together right now.
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Post by Prophecy Girl on Dec 7, 2010 11:45:07 GMT -5
KD. Take your time and we'll be here to distract you from your priorities in life whenever you want/need us....
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Post by Vanessa on Dec 7, 2010 20:16:12 GMT -5
SORRY EVERYONE. I'LL HAVE TO WRITE A REVIEW LATER. I won't have much time to participate here for a while. I'm currently dealing with a lot of family problems and financial issues and I need some time to reflect and figure out what to do. I'm so sorry! I'll be back though! I just need to get my sh*t together right now. Well, take it easy, girl. Like PG said, we will be here to help distract you from problems anytime! Hope to see you back soon. I still want to read your review!
Take care!
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Post by clarabel on Dec 9, 2010 11:25:18 GMT -5
Aaargh! Just got tickets for the preview screening here in the UK for Monday, but it clashes with Kings of Leon in concert. Guess my love for the Followill brothers is stronger and I've just failed wholeheartedly as a bone fide Gyllenhaalic! I hate that feeling...so giddy to be able to see it at last and then complete disappointment when you realise you're already busy! Guess I'll just have to wait another 16 days and pay. For anyone else in the UK that wants to see it on monday for free...go to www.showfilmfirst.com/pin/331596.
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