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Another disappointed look at MEET JOE BLACK...
Well we've had a history of more negs than positives, but just barely. It seems this is one of them movies that rides along that middle path, where people tend to like it or they don't. I should be seeing this one real soon, so I'll do up a review of it for ya myself.
Every time i think of Brad Pitt I think of this annoying girl from
my high school Chemistry class who always said "Ohmigod, it's Brad
Pitt!"
Well, this time she's close. In this film, Pitt plays one of the
most omnipotent beings in existence: Death. After a LONG while, he
decides to take a vacation from his usual duties in the form of a recent
victim (Pitt, again). He meets up with William Parrish (Anthony
Hopkins), an ailing media tycoon who Death has chosen to be his guide.
It isn't long before "Joe" has embedded himself in Parrish's life.
He becomes especially enamored with Parrish's younger daughter (Claire
Forlani), who thinks he's the same man she met before he "borrowed" the
body.
Director Martin Brest, who did a really great with "Scent of a
Woman," kind of falls flat on this film. It doesn't take itself
seriously enough: the audience laughed at the overly elaborate demise
of the Pitt/host. The production has all the elements of MGM Thalberg
era film: excess, wealth, and big name stars. Unfortunately, it has
none of the substance. It's more like one of the manufactured B-movies
MGM often produced after Thalberg's death. It also clocks at three
hours, which is 45 minutes too long.
Pitt's performance is nothing to write home about. He tries to play
all the elements of Death: sophisticated, intelligent, and child-like.
At times he succeeds, but most of the time he comes off as, well, a dumb
blond. He relies often on Hopkins for support, who can take a so-so
film like "The Edge" and make even Alec Baldwin look good. However,
even Hopkins occasionally looks for a bone during this movie.
The real surpass performance is from the relatively unknown
Forlani. I haven't seen this girl since Kevin Smith's occasionally
amusing "Mallrats." She has beauty and can convey much emotion as
Parrish's daughter, who has unwittingly fallen for Death. She is
definitely someone to watch out for
This is a film that could have been a lot, but it's only a few
moments. The movie has some really good dialogues between Hopkins and
Pitt. The romance is also very believable and tragic. Unfortunately,
the film spends its three hours dwelling on less interesting subplots.
The film is a re-make of "Death Takes a Holiday." In this case, I think
they should have shortened the vacation.
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Whether the movie is good or not, I expect at least to be entertained by the man-meets-woman storyline. That's the beauty of no thinking required entertainment, hidden in every film under the sun. Beautiful young people fall in love, then we can all sigh and go home.
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OK, it's not like i have short attention span. Some of my favorite movies are three-hours long ... but am i the only one who sees a disturbing trend here? It used to be a three-hour running time was a rarity, reserved for that special movie event that warranted it. Now, any pompous filmmaker with a budget thinks they can get away with it. What about 'Meet Joe Black' suggests it should be a three-hour movie? NOTHING!
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Why didn't they just call it:
"Meet Brad Pitt" -
The only way I'd see this movie is if there was a chance I'd get laid afterwards.
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I'm not going to pass judgment on this one. People thought that "Scent of a Woman" was a big risk with too great a running time. That turned out to be delightful.
I just would rather see Neil Gaiman's "Death: The High Cost of Living" instead of Brad Pitt's coiffured platinum locks. Doesn't anyone else here find perverse pleasure in "Cutting Class?" How long was Martin Mull lost in the forest preserve?
It'll be nice to see Claire Forlani. She was excellent in Julian Schnabel's "Basquiat." That was such a great film, and it's already attracted quite an underground following especially around Benicio Del Toro devotees. And whatever happened to that lost Forlani film, "Basil" with Christian Slater and Jared Leto? -
Basil will be going the "direct to cable" route. It will be shown on the Romance Classics Channel, of all places. Not what Claire Forlani and Jared Leto had in mind when they signed up, I bet.
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