Director: Roman Coppola
MPAA Rating: R
Film Pulse Score: 1/10
How could the co-writer of the fantastic Moonrise Kingdom (co-written with the fabulous Wes Anderson) write and direct such drivel? Okay, so Charlie Sheen has never been a favorite of mine either on television or film (with rare exceptions), but with a cast including Patricia Arquette, Jason Schwartzman, Aubrey Plaza, Katheryn Winnick, and Bill Murray, surely the acting could assist this mess – as the kids say “a hot mess.” But alas, the script and direction and indeed the performances are pretty miserable. Within the first two minutes, I had given up on it, but sticking with it for the sake of the review, I found it became increasingly worse as it went along.
The film opens with a psychiatrist delving into Charles’ mind; opening up his inner-most desires and fantasies. From that time on, although the film plays as reality, it is unclear to me whether or not the film follows reality or whether we are still inside the “glimpse” of his mind. Either way, it an abysmal attempt at funny and endearing filmmaking. Sheen is horrible, as is the rest of the cast, but they are perhaps not to blame. The script is so ludicrous, how could even great actors make this material worth watching?
Charles Swan (Sheen) is a graphic designer/photographer. Kirby is his best friend (Scwartzman). Saul (Murray) is his business manager. Ivana (Winnick) is the latest in a long line of women who has decided to break up with him. Izzy (Arquette) is his writer sister. And finally, in a few short scenes, we get to see the always interesting Plaza as his right-hand woman in Swan’s business venture, Marnie. None of these characters have any life in them and certainly no life worth watching. The film is, as I said, a mess in desperate need of a sensible script, solid direction, and worthwhile performances; obviously, it lacks all of these necessary ingredients to make a good film.
I am sure when it is released in February – in limited markets – and if it receives a bigger distribution in March as it may, no one is going to see this movie nor should they waste good money on such a load of absurdity. Following Swan around as he deals with the breakup from Ivana, tries to revenge his sister’s inability to get her latest book published, trying to maintain his friendship with Kirby, etc., is just pure nonsense from start to finish. The scenes seemed pulled out of a hat, in no particular order and with no rhyme or reason. It is hard to write more about the film, because anything I have attempted to write on it in several drafts always ends up with one “WTF” sentence after another.
Skip this. If you want to see these actors in something worthwhile, check out many of the television and movie appearances they have made and continue to make. But Roman Coppola, whose work I looked forward to, has created an enormous letdown of a film. None of the characters are interesting, though the script and actors try hard to make them so. I suppose because we are getting a “glimpse inside” Swan’s mind, there is no need to follow any “rules” of storytelling or fundamentals of filmmaking. But the film might have benefitted – though not greatly – from some structure or taking a step back from the ridiculous characters and finding a plot in which to put them.
