How To Be – DVD Review

Film, Reviews

howtobe

Hey, did you know Robert Pattinson is in this movie? Did you know he’s also in those little Twilight movies. If you didn’t know he was in this movie all you have to do is look at the cover and you’ll figure it out pretty quickly.

Seven. Seven times. Robert Pattinson’s name appears on the box of this movie seven times. Quick comparison, The Ghost of Girlfriends Past has Matthew McConaughey’s name on it four times and the last movie I reviewed, Nick Swardson: Seriously, Who Farted?, has Nick’s name on it three times (not including the proof of purchase tabs) and that movie is only him. He’s the only person in the movie. And yet, you combine those two movies and it only equals the number of times Pattinson’s name appears on this movie. I realize they are trying to ride the coat tails of Twilight, but holy overkill Batman.

It doesn’t help much that How To Be isn’t very good. It’s another story of a sad loner who just wants to be more “normal” and in the end just winds up being happy being himself. Unlike other movies that follow the same type of story, this one tries to pass itself off as a comedy – apparently. The blurb on the back of the box says “painfully funny and surprising comedy.” Which is pretty much true, the movie caused me pain, and I was surprised to find out they considered it a comedy.

The movie starts off with Pattinson’s girlfriend breaking up with him while he tries to explain why he’s such a sad, unhappy person. You’ll get used to that, because that’s pretty much all he does throughout the movie. Since his girlfriend tossed him out, he’s forced to go back and live with his parents. And since in his mind, his parents are the reason he’s so messed up emotionally, he tries to spend more time with his friends.

His friends are an interesting couple of guys. They’re all into music, so that’s what keeps them together and they actually form a band throughout the movie. They don’t, however, treat him all that well through the movie. So he doesn’t really get any kind of emotional support from anyone in his life which is all he really needs. So to fill this void in his life, he hires the author of the self-help book “It’s Not Your Fault.” Even though nine times out of ten, it’s your fault.

So the author of the book comes over from Canada and watches his life and gives him pointers on what to be doing and basically being an on call psychiatrist. Except, he’s hardly in the movie. Even when he’s at an event, he’s off camera and then they slowly will pan to get him in the shot, so they shot it trying to make it seem like he’s not in the movie, so you’d get the feeling he’s not intruding in Pattinson’s life. Which they succeed at, because you forget he’s in the movie half the time. And when he is in the movie, he’s never really helping in any way. Pattinson basically figures everything out on his own so having the author there pretty much is useless for the character too.

For humor, there are a few decent gags. Nothing that makes you fall over laughing, at least I didn’t. It’s British humor so if you’re from that side of the pond you might find it much funnier than I did. The part I liked was when Pattinson was trying to hug his mother and she holds him back. And I liked that more for the football aspect of it. She gets great inside position and is able to lock out her arms, and she’ll keep him away all day. Excellent technique for an offensive lineman let alone a mother trying to avoid a hug.

How To Be is presented in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen format and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound.

Only saving grace of this movie is the fact that it looks awesome. It is wonderfully shot, wonderfully lit and just splendid on the technical aspects.

More slamming you over the head with Robert Pattinson. There is a trailer for the movie; like most trailers it makes the movie look better than it is. There’s a behind the scenes piece and a Making Of piece, just combine the two and make it one segment, it’s really much easier that way. There is commentary with a couple actors and the director, I think the commentary is fine, it’s so quiet that it fights with the dialog of the movie so much that it’s hard to tell. Then there are two Robert Pattinson features: an interview with Comcast and Audition footage for those who just can’t get enough Robert Pattinson. There is a still gallery which I’ve never liked seeing as a DVD extra, but then again I’m not much of a pictures person. And finally a sneak peek at a web series called Life is Just a Game that I will be avoiding.

If you love Robert Pattinson and just want to stare at him for an hour and a half, be my guest and pick this up. If you want to boost your indie film cred and want to look at a movie that is shot very well, be my guest and pick this up. If you want to be entertained, laugh and have a good time watching a movie, be my guest and pick something else up.


IFC Films Presents How To Be. Directed by Oliver Irving. Starring Robert Pattinson, Rebecca Pidgeon, Robert Pattinson, Powell Jones, Robert Pattinson and Robert Pattinson. Written by Oliver Irving. Running time: 85 minutes. UnRated. Released on DVD: November 17thth, 2009. Available at Amazon.com.