Review of Wristcutters: A Love Story (2007) by Kenneth L — 11 Apr 2010

Not a terrible movie, but it could have done a lot more with its inventive premise. It does have an interesting central conceit: turns out that when you kill yourself, you just end up in a place that's like normal life, only worse: boring, drab, colorless, and filled with other suicide victims.

Unfortunately, in its early scenes, the movie itself almost becomes like the palce it is about: boring and drab. You can imagine all sorts of interesting punishments for suicide victims, but the ones here just have to deal with boring jobs, cars from the late 80s, and TVs with antennas.

Patrick Fugit is the star, and he is likable enough, but his character is a bit of a drag, obviously. Shannyn Sossamon injects a lot of life and interest into the movie once her character shows up, and by the time we get to Tom Waits, the movie is actually pretty good.

The ending is cute. I just wish the movie a) had more energy and b) had explored the possibilities of its premise a lot more.