Review of Sour Grapes (1998) by Andrew P — 21 Nov 2007

Roger ebert said, of this movie, "i can't easily remember a film i've enjoyed less." I take issue with this. I watched "sour grapes" and did, in fact, enjoy it.

This might say a lot about me: that my standards are too low, or, more to his point, that, unlike roger ebert, I think death and racism are funny - or can be funny, at least, in the right context.

As in "seinfeld," most of the characters here are morons and assholes, but while in seinfeld the laughter they triggered was the comfortable laughter of an audience thinking "man, I am glad i'm not as fucked up as THESE crazy people are," the laughter here - if it comes at all - is the uncomfortable laughter of you thinking, hey, as petty and bizarre as these people are, they're still all too human, and, hell, they remind me a little of me.

I think the main reason people slag this film off so much is because "seinfeld," and even "curb your enthusiasm" for that matter, are sympathetic. you shake your head at how dumb the people in those shows can be, but at the same time, a part of you roots for them. as big an asshole as larry could be on curb, he never tried to kill his own mother - which, yes, a dude does try to do in this movie. if the idea of that immediately turns your stomach, you probably won't like sour grapes much, but i'd argue that would also make you exactly the sort of person who should see it.

On a fundamental level, "sour grapes" is not sympathetic. you can't feel for the characters - instead, you watch them, awed and a little unnerved at how they look kind of like some aspect of you, taken too damn far.

To me, that's a little fascinating. it might turn you off, or make you want to turn *it* off. but hey. it's not a bad movie, I think. it has a good story. it's funny. you could do worse.