now trust me, no one was more excited for this movie than i was. since the trailer came out in late march i was anticipating this movie- and even bummed that i had to wait until late in the summer to see it. and i’m not saying that it wasn’t good because it has a lot to offer and there is a lot to say about it.
after following all of the terrific press from TIME magazine, to the New Yorker– even the View, i knew all the details about the movie going in, the back story, why apatow wanted to make it and what he wanted from it. but now, after seeing this movie i see how flawed it is. and maybe that is because it isn’t at all what we expected from him. apatow even said himself that he wanted to make a movie that could be funny without a chest waxing scene, or the crowning of a birth. he is the man of dirty humor (this movie certianly confirms that), stoner magic, and- for god’s sake he created the modern day bromance that we all love. but in the end, it’s hard for me to say that he successfully made this new type of humor effective. you can’t let your previous engagements with his stories impact your expectations. and i can admit that i knew all of this from studying up but i may be guilty because of my love for him. in the end the story was messy and the chemistry wasn’t right at all. and when a movie is long enough for you to forget whole parts of it, its hard to completely focus on what’s going on because you can’t remember the beginning of the plot.
i am not disapointed and i am not overjoyed. my biggest concern is critics and reviews giving it too much praise because of who made it. not everything this man will make will turn to gold. we need to remember that. and i have to fight that within myself, trust me. in retrospect it wasn’t his movies that made me fall in love with apatow– i am a Freaks & Geeks nerd to the core. so all i can hope that comes of this is great conversation- because that is why people create media: so we can talk about it and let it simmer into something new.
now don’t let me discourage you from seeing it. that is the last thing i want to do. please go see it, talk about it and decide for yourself. until then….
