Dedication

I believe that Justin Theroux is an actor that has been in strange roles and he delivers well, so it is not a surprise that in his directorial debut he does a strange movie with a strange story.

Have to say that I liked this movie even when Billy Crudup character is the most unlikely character to like when all over is described as a “misogynistic children’s book author”, but Crudup does a splendid work as a very volatile, selfish and terrified state of mind man. Unfortunately he is alone in what is described as “romantic comedy” as the other half Mandy Moore performance is below average.

Then have to say that I do not think of this movie as a “romantic comedy” as there is no romance here, to me is more like a study on a very troubled personality man and the lengths he can go while suffering his illness and while trying to overcome it. Sometimes movie marketing can really mislead and I believe this is one of those times which does no favor to an above average American movie.

As a movie the editing is quite interesting and absolutely helps to get the state of mind of Crudup’s character, has some nice cinematography scenes, good directing (some times seems like he loses control) and dark, musky screenplay with mordantly funny dialogue (the exception is the movie end which is not that good nor credible) which makes this indie film quite different to usual American cinema and well, interesting to watch. Also amazing Tom Wilkinson performance is good as always.

Not a masterpiece and absolutely not for all audiences, much less for Mandy Moore fans looking for a romantic comedy with her in the lead role; this movie is for audiences that like the not-usual fare in American cinema but if you give it a try there is a chance that half of you will like it and half will hate it, as most viewers and critics comments and reviews are divided.