Timothy Linh Bui's film is simply too slow. The characters don't engage us. The theme of lonliness and how the heart desperately needs love doesn't connect. There's too much whining going on. The situations are too dreary. The movie doesn't lift us, it drags us down.
The talented cast is game. It's the writing that lets us down.
The situations are too passive. Take the mortician for example. He's desperate for a connection. He deals with dead people all day, he's never had a girlfriend and the only time live interaction he gets is when he presents puppet shows for children. This could be a great character. All he needs is a compelling situation to pull us in. Some kind of drama that'll engage us. What we get is him hitting a dog and then falling in love with the dog's owner. That's so boring.
Then there's Ray Liotta. He's been in prison for the last twenty-five years. Ontop of that, he finds out he's dying of cancer. He's got one last chance for redemption. This is a great set up. So what happens? He finds his stripper-daughter, sends her on a trip to Paris and pays off his grandson's medical bills. Big deal. It's so boring. We need fireworks here. We need explosions. We need a bang but are left with a whimper. Films should never be a whimper.
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