Review of The Descendants (2011) by Werecar — 01 Jan 2012
First, I have loved Payne's previous movies, in particular About Schmidt. The problem with this movie is it felt like he was just trying to recreate the same movie in Hawaii. And as much as I like George Clooney, he wasn't believable as an everyday Joe.
However, in About Schmidt, I bought Jack Nicholson as an everyday guy from Nebraska who was seriously depressed about his life. I didn't buy Clooney as a father, or as a a husband struggling to understand what went wrong in his marriage.
His performance felt forced, in the way he walked, talked, and other mannerisms, clearly placed by the director, but not believable coming from Clooney. It actually was distracting from the plot. I agree with other reviewers about not caring about the characters (with the exception of the daughters).
And this is what separates Nicholson's character in About Schmidt from Clooney's. Despite Schmidt being completely oblivious, ignorant, and probably a poor father and husband, by the end of the movie you genuinely care for him.
I felt none of that in this movie.
This review of The Descendants (2011) was written by Werecar on 01 Jan 2012.
The Descendants has generally received very positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
