Review of The Oranges (2011) by Mike S — 04 Jul 2013

A film that could have been either more of a drama, or more of a comedy. Instead, the film sits flatly in the middle, neither deep enough to be a meaningful study of family disfunction and dealing with life at various ages, and not funny enough to be a quirky light hearted fun piece. It's disappointing because a cast that features Laurie and Platt could have gone either way very well.

The cast is very good with bland material. Meester is probably the weakest link, which is a major problem of the film as so much is based around her. However, Keener, Janney and Shawkat all provide solid performances. Laurie is good but looks like he's a little bored with the material. Platt seems to be trying hard to create an awkward character. The film misses the opportunity to use Platt and Laurie in funny scenes where banter could have worked really well. Instead we get rather dull interactions between them that doesn't add anything to the plot. Meester & Laurie have no chemistry, which is surprising because they had great chemistry when Meester appeared on House MD in a few episodes.

The film stagnates midway through the film and aimlessly drifts towards the end. The return of Nina's boyfriend attempts to lift the film towards its climax, however Rosen is very flat in the role of ex boyfriend Ethan and Laurie would have ripped him apart if this had been an episode of House. At 87 minutes, it's not a total waste of time, but don't select it as your movie for Saturday night.