Review of Land Ho! (2014) by William W — 22 Nov 2014

This movie reminds me of "Ka," the Cirque du Soleil production in Las Vegas that the audience either loved or hated. I ignored the negative comments and saw the show, to my regret, since I ended up hating it. Same thing with "Land Ho." So many critics and audience members liked this movie that I thought for sure it would be a delight to watch--wrong.

The essential problem with this film is that it is dominated by the character of Mitch, who is crude, obnoxious, and repulsive. The only redeeming possibility to this character would have been his death, but the script writers did not provide us this accommodation. Mitch is vaguely reminiscent of Larry David in "Curb your Enthusiasm," but without any of the compensating humor or charm.

Nothing of consequence happens in this film, and no dialogue rises to the level of insightful or witty. It is just a long, excruciating journey with a character from whose presence I would excuse myself in a minute should I have encountered him in real life.