August:
Osage County
By:
Nicolette Karter
So, my Grandma
& I saw this a few days ago, and I hate to say it because I love the people
in it, but I was not impressed. Or entertained, as regrettable as that is. The
reason I say my Grandma & I saw it is because she was the one who invited
me to go with her and my Grandpa (who I’m fairly certain didn’t even know what
movie we were dragging him to), but half-way through he fell asleep. Now, older
gentlemen have a reputation of falling asleep while watching TV, but if he was
enjoying the movie, he would’ve stayed awake; and if I’d enjoyed it more, I
wouldn’t have been jealous that he didn’t have to sit through 2+ hours of it.
Now, you might be
thinking “Nicci that seems a bit harsh; it wasn’t that bad”, and you’re right. But I’m trying to get my point across.
I did enjoy aspects of the movie, just not it as a whole. Meryl Streep and
Julia Roberts both got Oscar nominations for their roles, which I completely
agree they deserve. They did such a good job; all of the actors nailed their
characters. I liked that they (especially Meryl, Julia, and co-star Julianne
Nicholson) were willing to look bad, both physically and as human beings. That
sounded like an insult, but I really mean it as a compliment. I also liked that
it made the most hectic and head-butting of family reunions and holidays seem
nice by comparison. I think I mean that as a compliment, but I’m not 100% sure.
I know I didn’t
like most all of the characters. I don’t think I was supposed to like all of
them, but I think the audience is supposed to like them more than I did. People
have flaws, and when you’re messed up/a drug addict/ around people who drive
you crazy, those flaws (and maybe a few you didn’t know you had) will come to
the surface. These characters are supposed to show their flaws, and butt heads;
they are going through a stressful family tragedy. But all the cynicism, which
didn’t even seem like it was new to any of these people, was so toxic. Only
liked only few of the characters, and even then it was mostly out of pity &
wanting to root for the underdog.
Given the
upbringing of all three generations in the movie, it makes sense that they
would mess each other up. But there is a point where you want to have a whole
psych ward designated to this one family. I mean, yeah, families have a lot of
similar qualities, but they did grow up with other people in their lives to be
role models. The 3 daughters moved away, so you’d think they would try to model
themselves after other, not-their-mother type people. Meryl’s character’s
pessimism is hard to get away from, especially having grown up with it, and
after only about 3 days together the whole family just kinda gave up on each
other & their mean, nasty habits. They all ended up running away from each
other, and I’m glad I didn’t have to wait days for my time with them to end.
Love the actors, hate the movie.
What did you guys
think about it? Is there anything you want me to review next? Just leave a comment.
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