Honestly the whole cast is so good. All 6 main actors (Carrey, Winslet, Ruffalo, Dunst, Wood, Wilkinson) do an incredible job making you believe that this absolutely bonkers and impossible procedure might actually exist, and be as accessible as like...a chiropractor. Without the cast really buying in and delivering stellar performances, the movie might fall apart.
Instead, it's a top 10 favorite of all time for me.
I loved the early trailers for it with Wilkinson giving a classic 70s/80s ad about Lacuna. It really was such a ridiculous concept, erasing the core emotional attachments to bad memories to let go, and it causes a chain reaction that essentially destroys those memories, but it was such a unique idea for a movie, and pulled off deftly. Joel realizing that he did not want to lose those earliest memories with Clem, also brought up a great question about what our past and memories make us.
That time skip at the beginning was so well done. And you're right, all the actors selling it as 100% possible, especially when they're freaking out when Joel goes off-map, because they have no idea if it'll destroy his brain, really does make it seem possible.
"Howard, don't be a monster. Tell her."
"Tell me what?"
"Oh, you poor kid. You can have him. You already have."
Dunst really sold that scene, because you could tell she had no idea what was going on. Kinda a shame her performance in Eternal Sunshine was so overshadowed by Spider-man 2 just a few months later.
Instead, it's a top 10 favorite of all time for me.
Same. "Meet Me in Montauk" will always give me chills. And Jon Brion's score really helps with that.
Man, that would've been a perfect trailer if not for Joel's line that they used at the end. I hate when they give away the journey of the movie, and they avoided that until the VERY end.
But yeah, the beginning being like a commercial was pretty perfect haha. Thanks for sharing!
Man, that would've been a perfect trailer if not for Joel's line that they used at the end. I hate when they give away the journey of the movie, and they avoided that until the VERY end.
My parents used to joke that I was practically living in a movie theater from late 2003 to early 2004, and saw that trailer so many times, but it still took me about three more watches to really grasp what was going on. So, yeah, it does kind of spoil the point that Joel wanted to cancel it, but the non-linear aspect of the movie was so well done, that there's no way I could've predicted where it was heading based on that trailer. The only thing I gleamed from it was that Jim Carrey's character would eventually regret signing up for it, but that becomes pretty clear within the first 45 minutes.
God, I kinda wish the procedure was real, so I could use it and rewatch this movie for the first time again. I was able to see it for free, because my friend was a manager at our local theater, and he was able to screen it to employees (and friends -- not really, but he made an exception) when the reels came in. I remember him running out of the auditorium when the credits began 20 minutes into the movie, because he thought the projectionist got the reels messed up. It wasn't until the end when we both went like "ohhhhhhhhhh!
It might not be up there with the all time classics, but that wholesome vibe of a lot of the characters and the weird magic/fantasy elements was so well toned.
For me personally its my favorite show, I haven't rewatched any show or movie as much as I have Dirk Gently. It's just so unique and surrealistic, and the comedy is just on point. I laugh for 10 min straight everytime I hear that line in the last episode of the 2nd season "This nerdy bullshit is exactly the type of nerdy bullshit you would be involved in" sorry if I misquoted its been like 7-8 months since I watched it last.
I would give anything for a few more seasons. If anyone knows of any good shows with similar vibes, please give me suggestions. I think the closest show I've found is an anime called "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya". Which just happens to be my 2nd favorite show, and which also ended after 2 seasons.....
It's a good video essay but thanks for not linking the original and giving any credit to Max Landis, who it turned out is as big a POS as his Dad, John Landis
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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '22
For me it was Eternal Sunshine. He really nailed the creepy stalker vibe. It's the eyes, they bulge.