Reviews of Life During Wartime
Displaying all 2 reviews
Kyle
26Jul10
I wanted to love this film but instead found it to be a big disappointment. I find Happiness, Storytelling, and Palindromes to be tense, daring and funny usually all at once, which is why I always consider Todd Solondz to be among the greatest living American filmmakers. Life During Wartime, however feels like all the elements are in place for a great show but more than half of the fireworks turn out to be duds.
I had the good fortune of being able to see this film as a double feature with Happiness at the American Cinematheque last weekend, and having been quite a long time since seeing Happiness I was pleasantly surprised by how well the film has aged. Not one ounce of awkwardly hilarious tension had been diluted since its release. As Life During Wartime rolled it became glaringly obvious how weak a film it was by comparison. I wouldn’t even say that the film was weaker for the recasting alone (some of the new cast brought very good new energy to the roles), though for the most part the characters seemed like castrated shadows of their former selves. I actually really enjoy Solondz’s interest is playing with characterization through different actors (one of the great strengths of Palindromes), though in this case it did not help the film. The real issue I have with this film is the nearly complete lack of drama, tension or humor. It does aim for those qualities but in nearly every scene they fall short and feel like limp screentests for the actors who did not get cast in Happiness.
The best moments truly are in the trailer. I know that most Solondz fans are going to see it anyway, but be warned and set your expectations low. I would also not recommend watching Happiness or any of his other outstanding work before going, as it will just frustrate you more.
Fortunately it might not be so long before his next film, Dark Horse, which he has already written and is casting. He did mention in the Q&A that the story doesn’t contain much of his typically objectionable subject matter…
- Currently 2.0/5 Stars.
Marcus WP
1Jul10
It pains me to say this, but i did NOT like this movie. Todd Solondz (one of my all time favorite directors), did not finish the finish the year off well. In fact, this hasn’t really been his decade. He went from finishing off the 90’s as one of the most important american independent directors with movies like; Happiness & Welcome To The Dollhouse, to having to finance his movies himself because no one would give him any funding. And lets not forgot 2001’s “storytelling” had to have 1/3 of the movie taken out due to legal b.s. While Solondz’s previous film; “Palindromes” is only slightly connected to “Welcome To The Dollhouse”, “Life During Wartime” is a true sequel to “Happiness”. The first major problem is, if you havent seen Happiness, you’ll be totally lost from the very beginning of “Life During Wartime”. The film picks up with the characters from “Happiness” a few years later. Bill is released from prison for child molestation, Joy is still screwed up. Trish is trying to maintain as a single mom and erase her past (being married to a convicted a child rapist) and Helen is on the verge of a nervous breakdown due to her overwhelming success as a writer. There are also a few new characters introduced; like Joy’s crakhead, ex-con husband. All of the characters from the original “Happiness” are played by totally different actors. That right there is one of the biggest mistakes of the whole film. “Happiness” is a pretty memorable film, with quite a few memorable performances (especially from Dylan Baker and John Lovitz). A lot of the actors owned the roles they played, so when you see “Life During Wartime”, it kinda takes you out of the story. For example; Paul Rubens plays John Lovitz’s character; “Andy”. Ciaran Hines plays the role Dylan Baker played. Ally Sheedy plays the role Lara Flynn Boyle played, etc etc. And then there’s the other problem…WHAT WAS THE POINT OF MAKING A SEQUEL TO “HAPPINESS” IN THE FIRST PLACE? This instantly reminded me of “Fay Grimm” (Hal Hartley’s sequel to the far superior; “Henry Fool”), in that i think the director (Solondz) became too attached to the characters he created, and didn’t wanna let them go. Personally, i would’ve liked to have seen the cast and certain scenarios from “Life During Wartime” in a totally different story. Now, for fans of Todd’s work, there is plenty of solondz-esque scenes and dialogue (like a mother telling her son how her fiancee makes her wet). If you’re a fan of Solondz’s work, i’m sure you’ll see it, but don’t expect Dollhouse or Happiness.
- Currently 2.0/5 Stars.