Review of August: Osage County (2013) by Raustin714 — 29 Dec 2013

There is no way not to love Meryl Streep at all times, but you spend the whole movie watching her tear apart the scenery like Mechagodzilla and keep thinking "what a great actress" instead of "I believe this character could exist".

Like most people on Earth, I have not seen the play on which this movie was based. I didn't even know it was based on a play but assumed it was very early into movie as all the actors begin assembling into small rooms to give speeches at one another very loudly.

So many ridiculous causes for drama and conflict are packed into one film it becomes laughable, as hard as you are trying to take this seriously because so many good actors are obviously trying to on screen. The alcoholic father. The pill popping venomous mother. Suicide. Cancer. Familial dysfunction. Incest. Marital strife. Sibling rivalry. Mental illness. Teenage angst. All trotted out one after another to keep the actors acting on full blast. Why are Ewan Macgregor and Benedict Cumberbatch cast as two weasly Midwestern dopes? Because there's more acting to be done when you have to barely pull off a believable accent.

Subtle this movie ain't. Just to make sure you understand that Juliette Lewis' boyfriend is a rich douchebag, he needs to drive a red Ferrari convertible at 90mph everywhere and blast "livin la vida loca" on the stereo. Really? Like someone has listened to that song in ten years.

Listen, this movie was actually enjoyable for a while in the same way that one of those caught on camera shows is. But after a while you get numbed to the car accidents and wanna switch it off.