I guess that whole 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes wasn't just a misunderstanding for a huge group of critics. How did they manage to make such a funny and convincing trailer that you would manage to get the opposite result once you see the actual movie? All the funny parts were not just in the trailer, and there were plenty more to come by in the actual movie; so what WAS the big mistake here? It wasn't the hilarity actually, it was the realism. All the realism was in the trailer because I guess the trailer makers KNEW that the plot was so stupid and inaccurate that the trailer only included our two main characters trying to act as cops to random civilians instead of the actual plot that arrives only within the first three minutes of the movie. It's sad to say that having no plot to this movie would've actually made this movie better, which I didn't think was possible.
We open up with our two main characters of Ryan (Jake Johnson) and Justin (Damon Wayans Jr.). Ryan is an unemployed ex-football player who lives off royalty checks he made from a commercial about Genital Herpes. Justin is a "apparently gifted" video game designer, only his co-workers and bosses won't listen to his ideas at all for no real reason really, so the audiences mind will just assume that Justin's a pussy and we're supposed to root for him to do better and be manlier instead of his co-workers to just listen to him and grow a brain. When a party comes into the mix and our main characters have nothing better to do, Ryan decides to have he and Justin go to the party as Cops because he assumes it's a "costume" party. When people at the party point out everything that's wrong with both their characters and development, they decide to leave and coincidentally have the whole friggin city of L.A. award them with every good advantage in the book because people think they're actually cops. Drunk girls on the streets are making out with them because they're dressed as cops, they just happen to catch three teens smoking weed on the city sidewalk instead of going to a back alley like people in the "not-movie-world" would do, and ANY citizen just does what they say without ANY questioning what so ever on how they became a cop or how long they've been one.
When all is going well for them, Ryan decides to take his cop advantage one step further by trying to humiliate a few guys that hit his car a few days back; but of course those few guys just happen to work for a gangster, by the name of Mossi (James D'Arcy) who goes around collecting money from places like our main character's restaurant where Justin's love interest, Josie (Nina Dobrev) just happens to work there, and just happens to be single, and just happens to fall for Justin all because she thinks he's a cop. With that amount of idiocy and coincidence all occurring within the same friggin building, it's up to our two main undeveloped characters to save the day using an occupation they decided to lie about having. Also Rob Riggle's character is a real cop who teams up with our main characters because of the movie's convenience.
I couldn't tell whether the movie was winking at the audience or not in stating how ridiculous the whole premise is, knowing we see both our characters do that numerous times throughout the movie. I can only say that it was done A LOT better in 22 Jump Street which is what made that movie good. This one, I believe the filmmakers lost track in what the moral of the story is. At least we get funny and watchable performances from Jake Johnson and Rob Riggle (who were both in 21 Jump Street) who try and make the best of what's around them. Damon Wayans Jr. on the other hand did not have anything special (performance wise) to provide unless he was trying to be charismatic off of Jake Johnson's dialogue. The whole story with our characters is highly unconvincing and strikes zero interest with any character build-up. Before I left to see this movie, I looked on IMDB saw what else Writer/Director, Luke Greenfield had done. I then sank to the bottom of my seat when I saw it was the same guy who did the atrocious Rob Schneider flick "The Animal", and he clearly has not learned any lesson since then except for how to capture a funnier performance. Jake Johnson and Rob Riggle are the only reasons for checking this movie out because they make this movie at least watchable throughout. The rating I give this is A LOT higher than it deserves, but this might be my guilty pleasure of this year, all because Jake Johnson and Rob Riggle's performances make it so.
**
Can a thirteen year anticipation for a movie actually exceed your expectations? I don't know how, but Boyhood managed to accomplish that goal. When I first heard in 2001 about the director of School of Rock planning to film a feature film for twelve years starting in 2002, I thought it was just insane and couldn't be perfectly done.
Richard Linklater has now proven to be one of the best directors ever with his masterpiece that will go down in the books for ages to come. This guy managed to make a movie (yes, not a documentary but a MOVIE) using the same cast for twelve years with everything planned out ahead in how to tell a convincing story. Not one single soon to be Hollywood cliche got in the way. Not one original idea was shattered and improvised. Richard Linklater somehow managed to write a story from scratch and keep that same story on paper for over a decade as well as keep production moving for three weeks of every year they shot. How did they manage to convince the cast to keep coming back every year before they signed the contract? How did they manage to make the movie look as new as it did even though they started shooting over a decade ago with cameras and technology changing every six months? How did they manage to cast a kid who would devote his life on camera for three weeks of every year until he turned 18? Better yet, how did they manage to cast a kid that would look a lot like a young Ethan Hawke (who plays his dad) through his face and expressions towards the end of the movie but not at the beginning?! I don't know but this film already belongs in a museum!
There is no main plot for the movie because the title is really self explanatory. It's about Boyhood and whatever happens through the eyes of our main character, Mason, who we witness grow from age 6 to age 18 in almost three hours. It feels so much faster though since each year of our main character we see for only an average of thirteen minutes each. It's like watching a series of shorts featuring the same cast aging throughout. As interesting as it is to see Ellar Coltrane (who play's Mason) age, as well as Lorelei Linklater (the director's daughter who play's his older sister) age; it's really interesting to see Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke (who play the parents) age, because of how familiar one could be with the other projects they were doing at the time of filming. When we first see Ethan Hawke, it's like he just finished shooting Training Day and is about to shoot Before Sunset (another Linklater film worth watching). Same goes for Patricia Arquette for guessing which season of the show medium she finished shooting.
The movie doesn't want us to get sucked into any plot really. In fact every plot is just a sub-plot to our main characters. The movie just wants us to get sucked into our characters and wants us to witness them mature through the examples of the events that happen. Any supporting characters within those events provide great detail in helping either support or damage the development our main characters had with their surroundings. I know that sounds complicated, but we see Mason's mom get remarried a couple of times where the stepfather either helps or damages Mason's look at life providing either fear or bravery for him. Linklater really put focus on that detail which makes Mason's character seem more accurate each time we visit him in the next year because it really does look like he was abused by a drunken stepfather at age 9. It really is like witnessing someone in your real life grow up. The best thing is that there are no flashbacks AT ALL. It's great because the best way to make a movie is to have it not feel like a movie, ESPECIALLY if it's under the title "Boyhood".
The performances we get from our four characters we see grow up are beyond perfect. None of them seem tired or weak like they've been working on the movie for eight years or nothing that hints or spits out that they're in just a movie instead of an experience of a lifetime (literally). Ellar Coltrane provides a true performance for every age he is. He's not a 7 year old playing a character written for a 12 year old for vice versa. He really does act each age in the movie. Lorelei Linklater could be classified as the just the older sister who also has a character somewhat, but somehow always acts the same and never changes personality. I'm not sure whether it's a good or bad thing since I've never been a female at any age in my life. She does provide an excellent presence as Mason's older sister because she does act like that throughout the whole movie as well, which is a very good thing. Without her in the main ensemble, it wouldn't have provided as much depth for Mason or the parents. That's where we get to the BEST performances... the parents. Both Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke have already proved to be Oscar contenders this year. Not one minute do we not believe they are parents. Not one minute do they seem tired or bored with the material they have to provide each year. Not one minute was I bored with their characters and didn't want to give them a big hug for their commitment. Same goes for director Richard Linklater as well, who I will say has formed a better bond with actor Ethan Hawke than any other Actor/Director duo. I'd like to see Tim Burton and Johnny Depp stay committed to a singular thirteen year project.
I'm not sure whether the Academy will go for this sort of movie since it could be over qualified as "too original", but in my book, this is easily the Best Picture of the year BY FAR so far. Unless Christopher Nolan manages to make Intersteller like Inception times 10, then the best director award from me goes to Richard Linklater for this masterpiece in the thirteen years of writing, filming and editing. Ethan Hawke easily has my award for Best Supporting Actor of this year so far, same for Patricia Arquette in Supporting Actress. If you're looking for a movie with the most realistic portrayals of parenting (even though I'm not a parent myself yet), these are it. This is the most fun I've had watching Ethan Hawke on the big screen in the long time because he is very energized throughout this movie, especially at the beginning. Patricia Arquette's very last scene in the movie made me weep because that's exactly how my mom was when I was the age Mason is when the movie ends. I'm not going to be descriptive of what that scene is about, but Linklater's twelve year build up in filming makes it pay off perfectly since that was like THE SCENE he wanted out of Arquette more than any other I believe.
It was spectacular getting to finally witness this over-a-decade build up on the big screen. It's not easy making a movie when so many things go wrong on set. How did Linklater manage to keep it all together? What if one of the actors or crew members died? What if the footage somehow got destroyed? That kind of stuff happens within only a year in the making, but twelve years?! THAT'S amazing. What's more amazing though is how the film came together without any unimportant scenes or years they filmed. Every scene in the movie is necessary when trying to capture the moment each character lives in the film. It could've easily been a documentary, but those have obviously been done before. When it comes to making a scripted feature film, that's literally unlike anything that's been done before, and I am extremely proud of Richard Linklater managing to accomplish that goal with no barely any problems that I for the rest of the fans of this movie know about. I'm proud to call it the best film of the year so far and these four stars I'm giving it are an understatement to how I really feel about this journey Linklater has presented to us. It makes me respect life more than ever. :)
****
I'm just gonna start off this review by saying this IS Marvel's best movie to date. Why? It's not much of an ensemble "superhero" movie as The Avengers or X-Men: Days of Future Past is. They're just a bunch of outcast characters that have no choice but to join the plot and fight crime because of odd timing. There's a good amount of action, but we mostly get to know the characters more than actually see them fight... which is exactly why I DO like this movie A LOT more than any other Marvel movie.
Writer/Director James Gunn is mainly considered unknown in the Hollywood universe when compared to other Marvel directors like Joss Whedon or Jon Favereu. The only mainstream work he's known for are underrated films like Slither and Super. Everything else he's done were projects for Hollywood that were probably holding a gun to his head while he was in the writer's or director's chair. Examples? The live-action Scooby Doo and Movie 43 (which he won a Razzie for). Why does this make me respect Marvel more? Because they could be becoming the new United Artists. It was a company back in the golden ages of film that let directors show off their true line of work without Hollywood producers ever interfering with filming or final cut. It seems Marvel really wanted to become that likable company by first starting off by getting the writer of Swingers to direct the first Iron Man, starring America's most drugged up 90s star (back then) Robert Downey Jr. Since then, they have been on a role non-stop and here's the best result released by Marvel since... Captain America: The Winter Soldier earlier this year directed by the same directors of You, Me & Dupree. My point exactly. This time it's a Hollywood outcast writing and directing a movie of superhero outcasts that has most viewers relate to more than they could with Iron Man even.
The plot is pretty simple really. Our main character, Jason Quill (also known as Starlord) is after this orb which contains a weapon that could destroy worlds, which he wants to sell for money. After Starlord becomes a bounty target which introduces two more of our main characters, Rocket Racoon and Groot who try to capture him for bounty money while another main character, Gamora is also after the orb for another purpose we find out later. With that hilarious cluster fight happening, they all get arrested and have to figure out a way to escape jail with the help of our final main character introduced, Drax who's on the path for revenge against somebody that killed his family. That somebody of course is our main villain, known as Ronin who happens to be after the orb as well, who is pretty much the reason why our five main characters stick together for the rest of the movie.
The coolest thing about the rest of the movie is that the characters actually TALK and GET TO KNOW one another instead of just fighting and using cliche Hollywood dialogue as if we're supposed to care about the characters in that manner. I'm sure when James Gunn and his co-writer Nicole Perlman got their script green-lit by Marvel, I bet they were both like "FINALLY! A studio that reads and listens to what characters have to say instead of just do!". We really get to care for every character in just the way you see them interact, which makes the movie really hilarious too, which is why the action scenes are even funnier because of the build up through the character development. Starlord is the main human who lives in the past by listening to his old cassette tapes of old 70s and 80s jams on his Walkman. Gamora is unselfish in every way where she interacts with every character's plot and development and not just her own. Rocket and Groot provide great dialogue and genius charisma (which I'm sure was inspired by Han and Chewbacca from Empire Strikes Back). Drax also shows kind heart and interaction as well because his reveal at the beginning for lack of friends shows what can payoff when you have somebody fighting by your side.
You get to know the characters more than the plot itself which is why it can be GREAT build up for any Marvel sequels involving these five oddballs that go well together. They're really funny as well as they know exactly what to do when they work together instead of being trapped in their own selfish shield like most action characters. In fact, they actually show what happens to each character when one tries to make their own selfish shield and do their own shit them self without the other one's help, especially Drax. This is a perfect example of an ensemble piece because everybody is different, including the side villains and government agents of certain planets. They also have their own personalities and don't really fall under any stereotypical caricatures except maybe the main villain (Ronin) himself, which is my only problem with the movie if I had to pick one. Glenn Close provides great dialogue and plot only when needed and they don't give her an over the top introduction like they do with every Hollywood veteran to say they're in this movie, which is why we like her character even more. Double of that goes to John C. Reilly who's pretty much playing himself (which is NEVER a bad thing at all) as a government agent introducing each character when they're arrested at the very beginning and when the plot needs to expand to multiple environments. I'm sure Gunn and Perlman just wrote him last minute as a character to avoid any writers block, which every Hollywood action movie should do.
I will say again, I loved this movie more than any Marvel film to date. The characters are great. The action is really fun. The dialogue is spectacular and not just cliche filler. It gives you every reason to care about the characters which is why the friggin title is named after them. It also never has one dull moment because it moves subtly fast, which you don't get from many movies in today's world. I know the rating I'm gonna give it sounds crazy, but I honestly can't think of a single major reason not to.
****
Also P.S: the songs on the soundtrack to this also make it worth the price of admission alone as well.
