I’m a patient movie-goer. I’ve sat through a lot of mediocre films, some downright bad ones too. Since I started my movie-going craze last year, just once have I walked out on a movie, last year’s flaky, superficial, and abysmally bad The Bling Ring. Last night made twice.
I was excited to see Nebraska. Highly reviewed, touted everywhere. It had the very soft rollout that many indie films see, so while it has been “in theaters” since the first week of December, it just now made it to one close to me, and in a way that built excitement for me too. But from the get-go, Nebraska didn’t capture my attention nor my laughs. The jokes seemed to be written for another generation. It was in fact my dad who asked me weeks ago if I had seen the movie about the man who thought he had won a million dollars. My dad, who probably couldn’t tell you the biggest blockbuster last year, what movies were out this (or last) week, or even name one actor in Nebraska. I can see him laughing heartily at the jokes in this movie, as were the members of the upper generation I shared the theater with last night. To me they just seemed forced and dated.
People have lauded Bruce Dern. I just didn’t connect I guess. He played the sullen, depressed, obnoxious old man. While I felt sorry for him, I just couldn’t sympathize with him. Will Forte suffers from the same affliction nearly all post-SNL actors have upon trying the big screen for the first time. As a long-time SNL watcher, I just kept waiting for him to break loose from his sour demeanor into a wide grin and say something ridiculous.
I gave up 45 minutes into this film and left. When I got home I jumped online and read how it ended. From what I read, maybe it got better, but for me, maybe not. Perhaps I’ll wait 30 years and try it again.
Jons Movie Takes 