Precisett This movie is magnificent!
BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment
FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.
Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.
artsychik-89321 You will like this movie if you can fully appreciate a well-written Dark Comedy. Mike Binder knows how to nail subtle comedy/ dark humor. I enjoy his writing in that he can capture one's pain and dysfunction and still make it funny somehow. That takes a great writer. There are several small, magical moments Binder creates in his films that really cause you to THINK and nod and "get it".
claritadeb73 This is one of those movies perfect for a lazy weekend afternoon. There's no point watching it if you don't like romantic drama, it won't be for you. The story pootles along with charming scenes to do with self-discovery and relationships. I wasn't completely convinced of all the characters' motivation, it was a bit *Hollywood* with the artistic license. It is far fetched but that is for comic effect I should image. It's not laugh out loud funny, just absurd and farcical. The performances are solid, I think they save the shaky storyline somewhat. Ben Affleck is good in these thoughtful roles, don't agree with other reviewers on this. He's much less corny than most of his contemporaries in these kind of films. Cleese stole his scenes, pure class and not overly wacky. I did enjoy the soundtrack, it wasn't the usual upbeat pop-rock rubbish that 'quirky' romcoms are stuffed with these days. You won't waste an afternoon watching this with a cuppa while nursing a hangover.
John Holden As an actor Mike Binder isn't much. But at a director he rides the crest of sappiness and uses only what he can borrow from the well of older movies. I've never seen a writer-director so incapable of coming up with something new. At best he's a mediocre TV director."Man about Town" is about a guy who works too much and eventually learns that he needs to spend time with his family. Woo, there's a plot. Affleck, normally decent, sleepwalks through the role. Romjin, normally hot and exciting, is listless and dull. The rest of the cast are throwaways (except Hesse, who could have had more screen time)..But it's the story - or lack thereof - that makes this a waste. There's no real explanation of anyone's motives and you never really find anything out. The story builds to various climaxes which are suddenly diffused in order to continue towards the end - as if the director was ready to resolve something but needed more time. Nasty violence happens out of the blue and out of character.The point seems to be to get Affleck to realize that he loves his wife and can forgive her adultery. Along the way comic relief is offered grade-B 1950s style: people standing in corners have doors slammed in their faces; phone conversations happen where A is talking to B but C thinks A is talking to him so; characters yell and posture about things that come into their heads separate from any storyline ......Presumably Binder had a sense of all this and so resorts to the laziest trick: it's narrated throughout. You can't follow it anyway but if you fast-forward (as you want to) you lose any possible sense of continuity that the worthless narration (Affleck reading his journal) might give.All in all, a complete waste of time: no laughs, no love, no drama, no eurekas. Nada.
neverfeartruth Thankfully not a lot of people saw this movie, but it's scary that a film like this could be made in 2006. I enjoy politically incorrect movies when they make fun of people's ignorant perspectives, but this film was flat out racist. How many Asians are really represented in the film industry on or off camera. Here you have an unlikeable Asian character who has a "chip on her shoulder" because the "white man" won't let her in the film industry. She's poked fun of like the director's saying "take off the training wheels- you're just untalented." But, let's pose this question: is it really unjustifiable for her to have the perspective that the industry is a closed industry. Open your eyes and look at the amount and quality of work that's out there for minorities, especially Asians. Go to the DGA or SAG and get the facts. It seem like the director is saying that the industry is not closed- people make it on their own talent. If Asians are underrepresented, is he saying they have no talent (just look at Ang Lee, Zhang Yimou, Gong Li)? Why mock a person with no talent and make her Asian, who belongs in Chinatown to a buffoon-like family of kung fu artists. The fact that this director is Jewish and has no ability to make reference to being a victim of prejudice is hypocritical and plain idiotic. It seems like he had his own personal vendetta and made this horrific picture. How would he feel if people thought every Jew in the industry is working because of nepotism.
