Crazy Heart
Originally published at Ms. Amused. You can comment here or there.
This was a backup plan when my friend and I tried to see a free screening of Cop Out. We’d gotten into the latter but only seats left were the neck pain ones in the very front aisle seats so we left and saw this instead since it was playing in rear window (google “mopix” & “rear window”) at this theater.
I knew it was about a drunk musician at the end of his career and that it’s nominated for something like 9 Oscars.
Sadly, the disc with the captions had gone MIA and I’d sat for a whole hour into the movie before finding out that the captions weren’t going to be coming on when they fixed it. I’ve lost count of the number of times that there’s been issues with the system but this is a first where the disc just flat out went MIA. Why would anyone have a need to take it out for the week the movie is playing?
Anyways, I could only make out mostly what the other characters were saying and from what I could see, I have to agree that it just doesn’t make sense why the attractive young reporter (Maggie Gyllenhaal) would ever get into bed with hot mess Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges). My hearing friend who was with me said there was nothing in the dialogue either. My father had told me that he and his girlfriend liked the movie but couldn’t get past this part of it.
We ended up walking out because as my friend described it, this is the kind of movie to watch at home, not in the theater and I wasn’t really caught up in it anyways. Did stay long enough to see Colin Farrell do an amazing Southern accent. I even noticed it before my friend expressed her appreciation of this.
I’ll see it when it comes out on DVD. I left before whatever “drama” that happens that is the catalyst for the story but I don’t see how this can really compete this Oscar season against the rest of the nominees… except for Jeff Bridges as Bad Blake. You could argue the universal disbelief among my folks proves how well Jeff acted the part because Bad Blake too scuzzy for anyone to look at!
I just wish they’d edit out the nipple beard from his first topless scene. That was a little too “real”
Recommendation: Can’t say for sure yet. I will definitely watch it in full when I can. It seems even with the point of contention discussed above, it’s still a good movie. It’s shades of “Walk The Line” but different.
Final note about the failed rear window experience, got my money back plus some “we’re sorry” passes & free popcorn coupons. It gets a little ridiculous sometimes… last year I netted 10 passes in back to back “fail” instances. First, the theater didn’t even get the disc which is when I learned that AMC likes to send copies of the discs to all its theaters even though only a few are equipped to show them. I forget what movie that was for but the 2nd instance was Transformers 2 for which I’d driven a car full of people (6) 40 minutes away only to have the captions disappear during every “exposition” moment in the movie.
Ironically, the only reason I started going to the movies in theaters again was because of this rear window technology finally being available. But it’s so often messed up that it becomes not even worth the effort and gas to drive out to see it.