Review of People Like Us (2012) by Nicole K — 23 Jul 2012

The short version: I cared for the movie. I went, I watched, I took pleasure in it immensely. However, it is not without it's star-reducing qualities. I suggest it. You should see it. It's directed by Alex Kurtzman, who has met with considerable success in a little-known film called "Star Trek: 2009" as writer. Heard of it? Yeah, I thought so.

The long version: I enjoyed the acting; always a faithful Chris Pine fan. He didn't let me down here. Though, I'd love to see him in further roles similar to "Small Town Saturday Night" where he didn't play a fast-talking, quick witted, street smart heart throb with a secretive past and a pension for self-reliance. Not to say he doesn't pull them off well. I see a bright future for him. I just want Hollywood to recognize it.

Elizabeth Banks comes through beautifully, as she has for me in her other films of late. Seeing a rougher edge on her character makes me happy. She has so much potential to get put into the "strikingly-beautiful-and-overly-sweet-leading-lady" box. Here, she is more tortured and unsettled, a screw up on her way back, with victory in sight. We all know we understand a sufferer. In addition, the rough-talking, open for anything Miri in Kevin Smith's "Zack and Miri" is a wonderful look for her.

I was drawn to the story. I wanted to know how everything worked out. I loved the connection between them. I liked Pine with D'Addario--who did a great job in a debut role as a tortured smart kid looking for guidance. He was well written, and translated beautifully to camera. And I have to give kudos to Olivia Wilde. She is, at best, a supporting character (almost a guest star) but doesn't let her limited screen time hinder her character's story and her part in this one. I believed her, and I liked her, and that's all you can ask from someone in her position.

This is completely unrelated to the review, but feel I should share it because I said it out loud in the theatre. Only in movies/Hollywood are Chris Pine (an adonis) and Elizabeth Banks (a Venus) blood related. And only in movies/Hollywood does the adonis have an unspeakable beauty (Wilde) as his girlfriend. If a gene pool like this exists outside of this occasion, I'd like to see it. "Hi, I'm Inhumanly Hot, and this is my sister, Every Boy's Fantasy. And have you met my girlfriend, Absolutely Gorgeous?" Oh, California.

Anyway...

Shortcomings include the organization of the events in the film. I felt it was a bit bottom heavy. There's not an even distribution (or even a logical distribution) of all the important key points in the story. The beginning was light, containing only a few minor developments. The latter half--more like the last quarter--was CHALK FULL of all the things we had been waiting for. If we had had a chance to handle everything that happened so quickly over more time, it would have been more riveting. We'd have had a chance to form an opinion, a philosophy, on the events in front of us.

Secondly, there were a few scenes I felt didn't contribute to the story for as much time was spent on them. And the opposite as well. Short scenes were life changing, long scenes were only sprinkled with meaning. I don't feel like it dragged, and I respect nuance and subtlety. It was quiet, but I would have edited it differently.

I felt no connection between Pine and Pfieffer. That was intentional, I'm sure. But even when we might have been supposed to, it almost felt "too little too late.".

Lastly, I have to say I called one of the pivotal scenes BEFORE THE MOVIE EVEN STARTED. That made me sad that I could predict it correctly. Predictions of a movie are inevitable, and I suppose there are only so many ways this scene could have gone down given the circumstances. But it still made me sad. That said, there were many plot points I had not prepared for. Those were refreshing, and another reason I forgave the one correct prediction.

Final thought: If you love a beautiful, dramatic film about family, this is a movie for your portfolio.