And I'm back! Here's hoping regular blogging will resume now.
The Descendants is a movie all about generations. George Clooney's character, Matt King, is dealing with a younger generation, his two adolescent daughters. They've been acting up since their mother, and Matt's wife, was in a serious accident. I think the dialogue between Matt and his daughters is supposed to be sassy and poignant. Instead it just seems like two young actresses reciting lines that are woefully unrealistic.
Matt is also dealing with an older generation, his father-in-law who blames Matt for everything that went wrong with his wife. I didn't know which side we were supposed to be on. Both characters seem insensitive and once again the conversations were just off.
Most irritating is Sid, the brother of the Matt's oldest daughter. He seems like a total dumbass but somehow we're supposed to realize he is sensitive and wise beyond his years? Nope, not buying it.
Oh, and Matt has another thing on his mind. A gigantic expanse of land in Hawaii has been passed down through his families generations will need to be sold. He gets to decide who the buyer will be, with the input of his crazy cousins of course. I couldn't care less what Matt chose.
One would think that the dramatic situations of The Descendants would create an deep, emotional movie. I've been crying over Hallmark Christmas commercials for the past month, but this film left me completly unmoved. Yes, George Clooney is a great actor, but I don't think he as given much to work with. Matt desperately needs to get his life together, and I was so bored waiting for that to happen. Early on, he discovers his wife was having an affair before an unfortunate incident while racing a speed boat put her in a coma. Well, at least she was having some fun, which is more than I can say for the movie.
My experience seeing The Descendants, also involved different generations. I was the youngest person in the theater by about 50 years. I know this is a bit of ageism, but everyone in theater talked throughout the movie. They laughed at parts that were sad, gasped at scenes that were not at all surprising, and spent most of the time saying things like "uh oh!" and "here he comes!" and "oh no!" and "how about that!" I'm sure in a few years, I might be doing the same thing, but for now . . . can I not just watch a bad movie in silence?
If you've heard anything about The Descendants, its probably been that "its one of the best films of the year!" George Clooney is "an Oscar nominee for sure!" I'm just giving you fair warning, of at least two other people who hated this movie. I went to see it with my parents and they completely agreed with me and stayed appropriately silent in the theater. Thank goodness I'm one of their descendents.
The Descendants, rated "R," drama, starring George Clooney C-
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