InsidePulse DVD Review – Modern Romance

Archive


Credit: Amazon.com

Director:

Albert Brooks

Starring:

Albert Brooks ………. Robert Cole
Kathryn Harrold ………. Mary Harvard
Bruno Kirby ………. Jay
James L. Brooks ………. David
Jane Hallaren ………. Ellen
George Kennedy ………. Himself

The Movie

Albert Brooks is one actor/director/writer that people either really love or really hate. Some call him the West Coast version of Woody Allen, another person you either love or hate. There doesn’t seem to be any in-between. I must say that I don’t like Albert Brooks or Woody Allen. I don’t like their films. It’s not my kind of thing. This was my first time watching this movie as a result.

Albert Brooks directs himself as Robert Cole. Cole is a Hollywood film editor right in the middle of making a new science fiction film with George Kennedy. The opening scene of the movie has him breaking up with his girlfriend, a very patient bank executive Mary Harvard. Cole is caught between undying devotion and endless agony being with her. Robert is a bit of a self-involved neurotic who can’t quite decide if their relationship is meant to be, mainly because he’s not sure if she’s the one or if there’s someone else. So Robert continues to break up with Mary, but yet want to get her back right afterwards.

This is the ultimate can’t-live-with-’em, can’t-live-without-’em movie. Whether you like this movie or not will solely depend on whether you like Albert Brooks or not. There are other people in this movie, but basically this is just him for 90 minutes. Mary is in there for a little bit and Jay, his friend is there as well. But for 90% of the time..it’s just Albert Brooks as Robert Cole. Take for an example at the beginning of the movie. There is about 15 minutes of Cole walking around his house in a drugged-out state of mind. He tries to psyche him up into feeling good, but as a result he only makes himself more miserable. If you like this sequence, then you will like this movie. If you don’t, then you may as well turn off the movie..since it’s more of the same.

I compare Robert Cole to George Costanza on ‘Seinfeld’. They are the same kind of character. They are both neurotic, obsessive, and selfish. In fact, some of the things that Cole does I can see George doing on ‘Seinfeld’. This is what it be like if George had his own show. That is the problem with this movie, though. There is not much interaction between characters. What made George so funny and great was that he had Kramer, Jerry, and Elaine to interact with. I loved George, but too much George can be a bad thing. That is what you get here.

There are funny moments in this movie. I laughed a few times, which is strange since I don’t like Albert Brooks that much. The premise of the movie is a basic one, but Brooks owns this movie and brings it up a notch than what it should be.

If you like Albert Brooks, then you will love this movie. I don’t know if he is at his best here, since I have not seen any of his other “great” movies, but it’s Albert Brooks. If you are not a fan like him, well you probably won’t like the movie. However, if you obsess over relationships and are neurotic like Robert Cole..then a rental of this movie may be in order. You can’t be as bad as Robert Cole. He’s one insecure little man. How Mary can put up with him..I don’t know. But as George Costanza once said..“I’m disturbed, I’m depressed, I’m inadequate, I’ve got it all!” Cole does too.

STORY: 5/10
ACTING: 7/10
ORIGINALITY: 7/10
LOOK/FEEL: 6/10
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 5/10
TOTAL POINTS: 30/50
FINAL SCORE: 6

The Video:

The video is given in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen color. Transfer is decent with minimal distortion. No problems here.

The Audio:

The audio included is in English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound. No problems here either. There are English subtitles as well.

The Extras:

Feel free to skip this part, because there are no extras for this DVD. NOTHING! That’s a shame, since Brooks could have done at least an interview or a commentary on the movie or something.

Score: 0/10

I'm not embarrassed to say that my favorite television show of all-time is The O.C. I live by the motto "you can't fight fate!" More importantly, I watch WAY too much television, but I do so for the benefit of everyone reading this now. So to my mom and my wife, I say thanks for reading! To everyone else that might stumble across this, remember TiVo should be your best friend!