Wristcutters: A Love Story (Goran Dukic, 2006)

[ogygia avenue]

Has anyone gotten a chance to see this yet? The houseboy and I caught it last week, and...well...

I felt as though it was trying way too hard to be cute and quirky, and to appeal to the folks who liked Garden State. Somewhat paradoxically, the look of the film really put me off. I know the point of the film is that the characters are in the special hell for suicides, and that it's not supposed to look pretty, but after a while the over-the-top ugliness got boring. The extensive use of the blue filter got old fast, too.

On the other hand: Tom Waits can make anything at least not-boring (the scene in which he tells a story about crooked and straight trees left a lump in my throat), the cast is a veritable array of Hey! It's That Guy!s/Lady!s, and the quirky (that word again) female protagonist didn't exist for the sole purpose of saving the boy, and her idiosyncracies played a role in the narrative. (Honestly, I was expecting that role to be a trainwreck and was pleasantly surprised.)

I suppose I had a good enough time, but I have a feeling it will be even better when I'm home sick one day and it pops up on cable. [/i]

[domino harvey]

I'm surprised we didn't already have a thread about this, I know at least a few other posters besides myself had been waiting for this to finally reach some form of release. As for me, I live in a flyover state so part of me wants it to bomb so it'll come to DVD sooner.

[Chris]

I completely agree with the comment that Wristcutters is designed to appeal to the Garden State crowd. The basic scenario ideas, scenery and Gogol Bordello soundtrack were the appealing aspects of this film for me. It would have made a good short film, but at 91 minutes it played about 60 minutes too long and the third act was a mess.

[Svevan]

But it was awfully sweet, at least.

[indiannamednobody]

I got a chance to see it at the Wisconsin Film Festival last April and it was one of the best new films there. Looking forward to catching this on DVD soon.

[LeeB.Sims]

I've been waiting for this for some time now. I could watch Tom Waits peel wallpaper and be wildly entertained so no amount of negative feedback could really deter me.

[Antoine Doinel]

I pretty much feel the same way about Tom Waits but even he couldn't save the dreck that was Domino.

[domino harvey]

As long as Shannon Sossamon's eyebrows are in this film, we should be fine.

[portnoy]

I went on a date to see this (the girl insisted).

I was surprised by how little I hated it. This movie wasn't half the atrocity I thought it was going to be - it's got its fair share of forced quirkiness, but there's a lot to like about its shuffling hangdog vibe and uncomfortable gallows humor. Almost Famous be damned, Patrick Fugit continues to be a fairly affable actor, and Tom Waits and Will Arnett put in good appearances.

I do think, though, that if there's going to be a character in a movie who's basically Eugene Hutz, and then soundtrack him with Gogol Bordello songs, you might as well get Hutz to play the part.

[domino harvey]

This was the most adorable movie about suicide ever.