Not a totally unfair comment, and normally I do hate that particular cliché, but I think this inept loser was portrayed with enough intelligence and originality to make it work. What I loved most about the film, I think, was its sheer rage: among other things this is an incredibly angry film. That sequence where Barry is being heckled by his sister on one side and 'Georgia' on the other is almost unbearably tense - and the freak-outs are scary and exhilerating. That said, although the violence, when it comes, is cathartic, I was impressed that Anderson knew when to stop - he takes quite a risk handling the climax the way he does, but I thought the risk paid off.Perkins Cobb wrote:It's one of those self-indulgent intellectual fanboy-bait movies where the socially inept loser guy gets (or at least has a chance with) the adorable, quirky, lonely hottie. You know, like in real life. Line up all of those movies from the last decade (and there are a ton) and you'll find a lot of overrated critical darlings in which a (youngish, white, male) director who's capable of better takes the easy way out.
And after 84 minutes, when the credits rolled, I felt like I'd just watched a five-minute short. If only Anderson were always this economical!
