Dunedin Public Libraries News & Reviews Blog

I love Will Smith movies, as a rule, so I settled down to watch this one with anticipation.  I was initially very disappointed, in fact I thought about turning it off after about the first 15 minutes.  Perseverance, however, does occasionally have its rewards and this was one of those times.

The storyline (without giving anything away) revolves around Will Smith’s character, known as Ben.  We see flashes of his past, but mostly see him in the present as he meets various people who are waiting for, or in the process of receiving organ donations – liver, kidney, bone marrow etc.  He seems to be checking out the lives of these people, finding out if they have good morals etc.  In the process these meetings, he meets Emily.  Unexpectedly to Ben (but not so much to the audience!!) he falls in love with her.   This could, potentially ruin everything for Ben.

The storyline was sometimes a little tedious for my liking.  However I loved the attention to detail, particularly in relation to Ben’s pet – a box jellyfish which plays an important role in drawing the story together.  This may sound like a bit of a contradiction, but sometimes the details are what really makes a film good – even if the storyline itself feels a little bit like it is a short story which has been drawn out to the furthest extent.

Perhaps my liking of Will Smith makes me a little biased, as I thought his acting was once again superb.  In fact, the actors are all very good.  The characters are believable and mostly like-able (except for one particular character who wasn’t intended to be!).

I went from fairly apathetic at the start of the movie to being very, very close to tears at the end.  It is a pretty good movie overall, and well worth a watch – just remember to have a box of tissues handy if you tend to cry at the movies!

Reviewed by Joy

I went into this with VERY low expectations.  I really didn’t expect the movie to do much beyond the norm of the comedy genre – constant puns and very little in the way of a decent storyline.  I had in my mind that I was going to be writing a review that told you not to watch it unless in the mood for rubbish.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I genuinely enjoyed this film!  It was still chock-full of cringe worthy comedy – in fact, there were moments I just found myself putting my hands over my ears and closing my eyes to avoid the embarrassment of the characters!  But there actually seemed to be a bit of heart in the story.

Paul Rudd and Sean William Scott star as two friends who find themselves in trouble with the law after Rudd’s character Danny breaks up with his girlfriend.  Given the choice between jail or community service, they chose the latter and end up mentoring troubled kids.  Danny is paired with Augie, a quiet, dorky teenager obsessed with a Dungeons and Dragons/Medieval role playing game.  Scott’s character Wheeler partners Ronnie – the most foul-mouthed, dirty-minded 10 year old you could ever imagine.

There are, of course, several hiccups along the way – culminating in Danny and Wheeler almost being sent to prison after all.  Somehow though, at the end of the day things turn out OK – and in fact there really seems to be a moral to the story.  Do what makes you happy, no matter what others think, do or say.  There are no preachings to this message, it has been delivered in a subtle way.

I really did love this movie.  The acting was great – particularly on the part of the kids.  The comedy was actually funny – not just embarrassing – and flowed well.  I’d recommend this film highly to an adult audience – it has an R16 rating for very good reason.  In fact, I may even buy a copy for myself!

Reviewed by Joy