Number Rolled: 5
Movie Name/Year: The
Longest Week (2014)
Tagline: She had
him at “I’m your best friend’s girlfriend.”
Genre: Romance
Length: 86 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Production Companies:
Armian Pictures, Atlantic Pictures, Far Hills Pictures, YRF Entertainment, Yash
Raj Films
Executive Producer:
Stone Douglass, Chris Marsh, Taylor Materne, Jonathan Reiman
Director: Peter
Glanz
Writer: Peter
Glanz, Juan Iglesias
Actors: Jason
Bateman, Tony Roberts, Laura Clery, Stephen Temperly, Alexandra Neil, Seamus
Davey-Fitzpatrick, Barry Primus, Olivia Wilde, Billy Crudup, Jenny Slate
Conrad was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He’s in
his forties and still gets an allowance from mommy and daddy. When his parents
decide to divorce, he’s left evicted and trying to hide his situation from his
best friend.
Selina’s Point of View:
I found this film the worst kind of pretentious. Like
discussing books with a guy who only reads the classics and thinks anyone who
delves into an Anita Blake novel or any young adult zombie fic is wasting their
intellect.
I have known people like this. They are exhausting to deal
with. Every word out of their mouth sounds like they mean it as a put down.
“Oh, you like salmon.”
“The Walking Dead is so derivative.”
“How could you stand the sophomoric comedy of Kevin Smith?”
Go fuck yourself.
I hated this film, which is impressive since the cast is
actually made up of wonderful actors. Anyone who can take people like Olivia
Wilde (The Lazarus Effect, House M.D.,
Better Living Through Chemistry) and Jason Bateman (Arrested Development, Identity Thief, This is Where I Leave You)
and turn them into delivery devices for a string of boring conversations that
serve no real purpose by the end of the film, is a master time waster.
I think I’m going to avoid Peter Glanz (The Trivial Pursuits of Arthur Banks, The Dinner Party, Velvet)
like I avoid Uwe Boll (Blubberella,
Assault on Wall Street, 1968 Tunnel Rats).
Cat’s Point of View:
This wasn’t your typical ‘romance movie.’ It wasn’t even a
typical ‘I stole my best friend’s girl’ movie. I found this refreshing.
This film was a bit cerebral, but it didn’t try to aim so
high that it would go over an audience’s head. Intelligent humor tends to be a
bit under-rated these days. Laughs that appeal to the most common denominator
seem to be most prevalent. This film brought the full cultural gambit from
stage to art, literature, and music.
Behind the comedy within the film, I felt a real emotional
connection to Conrad and his predicament. Jason Bateman (Smokin' Aces, Horrible Bosses, The Gift) gave a wonderfully nuanced
performance here. One moment there was a glimpse of the character’s
vulnerability and how lost he was…and the next, the veneer of carefree
existence slid back into place.
I also loved what Olivia Wilde (Turistas, In Time, Rush) did with mere glances. There were volumes
that could be said in just a few of such scenes, where she said nothing at all
but let her eyes do the talking.
Billy Crudup (Public
Enemies, Thin Ice, Rudderless) was an interesting ‘straight man’ to
Bateman’s character’s hijinks. He was not without his own offering of humor to
the film. I particularly enjoyed the Volvo.
When life gets really intense, sometimes it can definitely
feel like an eternity gets packed into what is, in reality, a very short span
of time. I believe that this movie captures that rather well. I enjoyed it,
though I can’t quite put my finger on why it was just that, rather than
‘great.’
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 11%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 22%
Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 2/5
Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 1/5
Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 1.5/5
Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score
– 3/5
Movie Trailer:
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