So I actually watched that movie about doing certain things before you die the other night. And I still have problems with it.
There is a short feature with the film's creator at the end that was even more annoying. Because he ignored the things in his movie that make it unrealistic, and thus ended up accusing the rest of us of being too apathetic to follow our dreams.
The thing he ignored: one of the old guys in the movie was disgustingly rich. It's even implied that he didn't necessarily get his money in nice ways. So when the time comes to go sky-diving and travel the world, "money is no object". Terribly realistic, eh?
Two other things about the movie that bugged me a little:
One, the common complaint of many black-white buddy movies: Morgan Freeman was sort of type-cast into that uber-wise, ethnic guru friend role that people of color so often are in movies. It's a bit tired. Sure, the Jack Nicholson character taught Freeman a lesson to, but the dynamic was pretty clear: Uneducated, but wise mechanic accompanies rich, unhappy CEO on spiritual journey. Blah
Also, by having Morgan Freeman be the narrator at the very beginning (and I'm about to spoil the movie for you, just so you know), it gives the impression all through the movie that one of them isn't going to die. Why is it that even in a movie about death, we can't let go?
2 comments:
You are right, of course, about all of those comments. But - I still like it. I like it very much. Sometimes, even very unrealistic stories and character, and unlikeable characters can bring something meaningful. And are they typecast? Of course. But I still enjoyed both of them. And there were some really funny scenes and lines. I especially liked the three things to remember about getting old. I still repeat them (in the right company).
I actually liked it pretty well too. The problem is with taking it too seriously. And I'm bad at remembering jokes, so I only remember one of the three things about getting old, and it's the least appropriate one, I'm guessing.
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