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Summary: .
Review: Different and similar follow-up to In the Company of Men, Your Friends & Neighbors will essentially appeal to the same crowd, and maybe even a cull a few new fans. More varied (though less focused) than ITCOM, the frustrations, deceit, humiliation, moral ambiguity, and intentionally nerve-grating self-doubt that litter this film, paired with the stage-play-like, dialogue-driven atmosphere that was witnessed in ITCOM, will serve to do, well, what Labute seems to do: appeal to some and repel the rest.
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Summary: PEOPLE ARE UGLY
Review: Director Neil LaBute's follow up to In the Company of Men which is almost as pessimistic, ugly, misanthropic and still intelligent, thought provoking and different from all the other movies out there. Aaron Eckhart makes an amazing and almost unrecognisable transition from sly, conniving, pretty boy Chad in In the Company to the overweight, bumbling, devoted husband with erectile problems in Your Friends and Neighbours. Amy Brenneman portrays his frustrated wife who eventually ends up pursuing an affair with their friend, an actor and acting teacher played by Ben Stiller. Stiller lives with his girlfriend, a writer who is sharp-witted but not the nicest person in the world. She is played stunningly by Catherine Keener. She has problems with people talking at all during sex, so she is angry and turned off by Stiller who wants to talk all the time. This drives Stiller into the arms of Brenneman. When their crucial moment arrives, however, he, like her husband, cannot perform. Keener, meanwhile, has started an affair with another woman, played by Nastassja Kinski (who looks more beautiful now than she ever did in her teens and early twenties). Beyond all of this, Stiller and Eckhart are close friends who have a third close friend, a seemingly psychotic doctor played by Jason Patric. Patric is a lot like Chad from In the Company of Men. He treats women like they are objects, is highly misogynistic, but he seems to hate people overall. His personality is extreme, confrontational and cruel, but you can say for him that he is his own person. He justifies some of his more insane acts by saying, "Common decency dictated the whole thing." The film does not offer much hope for the humanity and may indeed make you sad when you consider that this is quite close to the way reality is. (Some will disagree, but they are probably deluded into thinking the world is basically a good place full of good people).
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Summary: Sex is the Wheel, Hate the Driver
Review: Films with no protagonist generally are either loved or hated instantly. Why? Because, most of us like to feel that we, at heart, are "good" people, and when we go to films we like to see reflections of ourselves that are self-enforcing and positive. "Your Friends and Neighbors" revolve around 6 30-somethings that are not as obsessed with sex as they are involved in their own self-hatred (of which they are mostly unaware). Their hatred takes the form of self-involvment and detachment from their sexual partners that spins an ugly web of hostility and cruelty. Labute's sophmore effort does not have the propulsive plot of "In The Company of Men", easily the best film of 1997. It is far more talky (TOO much so in some parts), but this again is a reflection of the avoidance the characters seek out....they talk and talk, but never say much, they approach or avoid intercourse with venal anger or disgust. It is in this respect that Labute has mirrored their sterility with character names like Jerry, Teri, Cherri, Cary, etc.---none of which are referenced in the film. The highlight of this film and what keeps you watching are the stellar performances, especially from Amy Brenneman, as Aaron Eckhart's frigid, sexually confused wife; Catherine Keener (terrifically acidic as usual), as Egomaniac Ben Stiller's terminally disatisfied girlfriend, and Jason Patric as a truly amoral psychopath in a Doctor's guise. Only Nasstaja Kinski, as a lesbian looking for love (but not knowing what it is) comes across as vaguely sympathethic. Though the film appears to many as pretentious, the mantra "Is It Me?" that rings throughout the film becomes the true indicator of these neurotic and psychotic anti-heros. Not comfortable to watch, but thought provoking, nonetheless.
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Summary: Jason Patric gives the monologue of the decade
Review: I am seldom shocked by a scene in a film-or even events in real life, for that matter-but this film has a scene that had me gasping for breath. It is a monologue given in a steam room by the film's misogynist. What writing (by the film's director, Neil LaBute)! What a performance (by Jason Patric)! That Jason Patric is also the film's producer shows what courage he has professionally and as a human being. This is the least sympathetic film character ("Cary") in a long time. Those who don't hate "Cary" for his unbridled misogyny will despise him for the revelations of his monologue. The Amazon review apparently agrees: "Then there's Jason Patric (who also produced) as a calculating, misogynistic doctor who has not had a peer on film or theater since David Mamet's Sexual Perversity in Chicago (which took a different film form as About Last Night...). Manipulative and forward, he's the white-hot core to LaBute's fire and has the monologue of the year to boot." An amazing bit of trivia-not as amazing as the monologue, but amazing nonetheless-is that Patric is the grandson of Jackie Gleason of "Honeymooners" fame. (Gleason's daughter is Patric's mother.) His father is Jason Miller, actor, director, and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright of "That Championship Season." (Jason Patric's real name is Jason Patric Miller, Jr.) For more facts about Patric are at: http://amazon.imdb.com/Name?Patric,+Jason
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Summary: Bleak look into the relationships between men and women
Review: I gave this movie 3 stars because though it was a well made and well acted movie, I came away feeling depressed. This movie made me wonder how in the hell I'll ever find a good man out there. Completely neurotic, self centered, disfunctional, deluded characters - men and women. Every relationship was doomed, cursed, disfunctional, or whatever you want to call it. I suppose that if a movie can at least inspire that much emotion, even if it is negative emotions, it is successful. (Not many hollywood movies do.) If you've seen the movie Kids, the depressed bleak outlook you walk away from that movie with, is probably similar to the way you'll feel after this movie. (I would however give Kids a higher star rating.) See this movie if you want to be reassured that there is no hope left in the world for relationships.
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Summary: the most entertaining film in years..
Review: I have recommended this film to everyone I meet, and I'm almost to the point where I can do Jason Patric's "Sauna" monologue perfectly, but in the end, it's a film that illustrates how we still don't know how to communicate with one another. Especially the opposite sex. And in Neil Labute's world as in the real world: The snake always wins.
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Summary: Dark, comical, and disturbing
Review: I liked this movie because it is original, and you get very absorbed in the characters. The acting is very good, the story ties together, and it holds your attention. Best of all, at least for those who appreciate dark humor, this is very comical. It is, in my personal opinion, a brilliant, well directed film.
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Summary: One reason, Jason Patric
Review: I really think this movie is excellent. Not many movies are so brutally honest and at the same time filled with the most dead-on humor. Although all the characters are well developed and the plot centers strongly around the idea that everyone is some sort of victim, the real reason to watch this movie is the powerful performance by Jason Patric. Patric brilliantly plays a mysogynist, a brutal sexual predator out for his own satisfaction. I truly believe that this character is not only the best in the movie but maybe one film's most interesting characters ever. Anyway, he's also really funny. as is the movie. i recommend it.
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Summary: Wow!
Review: I thought this movie was amazing. This movie spoke to me on too many levels about how people handle relationships and life. I identified on a personal level with many of the characters. This movie is real. Some movies are nice and they're fun to watch. Some give you faith that life can be the way you dream it to be. This movie shows you how life is. If nothing else, this movie was so real. I loved it. Great job!
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Summary: Self Absorbed Monster Fest
Review: I WISH I COULD GIVE IT LESS THAN ONE STAR... Uggh...I was so excited to see this movie...what a terrible disappointment! You see, I am a HUGE Catherine Keener fan and wanted to see all of her films. I could have done without this one easily. It's true Catherine Keener and the rest of the talented cast prove they are masters of their craft, unfortunately, this movie leaves filmgoers wondering "Was this necessary?" If you want to waste two hours of your life watching self absorbed monsters rant and rave and cheat and lie, this is the movie for you. If you're a Keener fan like I am, I strongly recommend "Living in Oblivion", "Lovely and Amazing" or "Being John Malkovich".
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