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When I saw Garden State for the first time, I did not guess in a million years, say what you will about that (unfairly trampled upon) film, that this is the trajectory that Braff's career would take.

I don't know, this seems about right for his intellectual gifts/lack thereof. It looks like it might (just) clear the low bar set for this kind of thing, so good for him, I guess?

Maybe they'll love it as much in Nicaragua as they did Last Vegas, though that's a story for another thread (truly one of my most bizarre film going experiences).

So basically this is to Braff what After Earth was to M. Night Shyamalan: a gun-for-hire studio hack job which will give him the money to finance another one of his conabulous fabtraptions.

This stands every chance of being much better than anything else Braff has directed; indeed, it's almost assured. It remains to be seen how they explain Michael Caine as a retired American steelworker.

I realize this is a remake, but Going in Style is such a dreadful title, period - it sounds like an ad campaign for a very nice line of adult diapers, which I suppose is appropriate considering the film's subject matter

mfunk9786 wrote:I realize this is a remake...

Jesus, I didn't even put that together. I completely forgot about that film.

mfunk9786 wrote:I realize this is a remake, but Going in Style is such a dreadful title, period - it sounds like an ad campaign for a very nice line of adult diapers, which I suppose is appropriate considering the film's subject matter

Funny you should mention that considering George Burns had a lapse in bladder control in one scene in the original. I actually remember a blurb in (pre-shell-of-itself) EW several years ago suggesting this be remade -- and here we are. I don't really see this improving on the Martin Brest original all that much, though... especially since, despite their ages, Caine, Freeman, and Arkin all seem far more youthful given their public personas than Burns, Carney, and Strasberg did at the time, which kind of goes against the story.

MoonlitKnight wrote:...I don't really see this improving on the Martin Brest original all that much, though... especially since, despite their ages, Caine, Freeman, and Arkin all seem far more youthful given their public personas than Burns, Carney, and Strasberg did at the time, which kind of goes against the story.

Exactly. The fact that the Burns, Carney and Strasberg characters were not in particularly good health in the original film undercuts the comedic moments by consistently reminding the viewer that the elderly can be forced to live highly restrictive lives. The title is a play-on-words, and an ironic one at that, since the film is following these characters at the tail end of their twilight years. I get the feeling watching the trailer for this new version that the title won't have the same resonance. I'll be especially surprised if Caine's character is given a complementary moment to Burn's in losing control of his bladder, the quietly sad little scene that "MoonlitKnight" alluded to above.

By the way, if folks want to see some recent good work being done by David Gordon Green, check out the two seasons of Amazon's 80s period comedy Red Oaks. The second season (just recently uploaded) also features five episodes directed by Hal Hartley and a couple each by Greg Araki and Amy Heckerling.

David Gordon Green discussion (seriously!) moved here