Premise: The odd life of aspiring author T.S. Garp.
I don't get it, but I am intrigued by it. I know it's based on a John Irving book although I know nothing about the book. So, I have no idea if my confusion about the movie stems from something in the book or something in the attempt to adapt the book. This is an absurd movie with a fun, offbeat sense of humor. Most of Glen Close's scenes are filled with sly humor. Robin Williams in an unconsciously funny actor, especially that early in his career. Obviously, the biggest joke is the car accident, which is so big that the movie sort of steps on the punchline and delivers it in pieces.
I enjoyed the movie a lot for the performances. Glen Close is really lovely throughout, but especially early on. I love her sweetness telling a story like how she got pregnant. I was shocked by how well John Lithgow's character was handled. Nearly 40 years later, Hollywood still struggles to include a trans-character with that much grace. Lithgow isn't playing the character as a joke and the film doesn't include her to be shocking. I wasn't prepared for that kind of performance in a 1982 movie*. And, at this point, anything with Robin Williams is a treat. His death is still the Hollywood death I took the hardest. Simply seeing him so young and full of life in this is so nice.
*This is where I feel compelled to say it's a shame it couldn't be an actual trans actress, but I'm grading on a 40-year curve here.
I wish I understood the point of this movie more, because there are a lot of elements I liked. There's a Forrest Gump quality to it, except much less sentimental. Garp doesn't travel through as many major events in history, but he does live an active and eventful life. The film seems to have some thoughts about feminism of that era, but I'm not even sure where it actually lands on that. Maybe I should look up the book, but then if that doesn't clarify things, I'm really in trouble.
Verdict: Weakly Don't Recommend
No comments:
Post a Comment