This Movie is Rated R – For Language, Some Violence and Sexual Content
It’s prom night, Chris Pratt (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), his girlfriend, his best friend and his friend’s girlfriend are on their way to an after prom party. Chris takes a detour down a country road so he can show his girlfriend the fireflies. He puts the top down on his convertible so they can see them better. Once he sees them he turns off the headlights so the effect will be even more magical. At first everyone is impressed by the sight before them, however, they start to get nervous about him driving without lights on. He reluctantly turns them back on just in time to see a combine that is stalled out in the middle of the road. We don’t see what happens because there is a quick cut away right before impact would occur.
We jump forward four years later and find that Chris suffered a moderate traumatic brain injury in the crash. Which has totally turned his world upside down. He used to be a high school hockey star with a bright future ahead of him. Now he has to constantly write notes to himself so he can remember the routine things he has to do each day. He also has disinhibition, which will cause him at times to say some pretty inappropriate things. Chris has trouble controlling his left hand, will sometimes suddenly fall asleep and when he gets frustrated about something he gets very angry.
He attends a class at the Independent Life Skills Center in order to help him cope with his new life. Lewis (Jeff Daniels) is his roommate. He is a blind man that the center hooked him up with. Although, Lewis is pretty independent, there are some things that he needs Chris to help him with. As far as Chris goes, he really needs someone patient that can help him work through his frustrations and Lewis is the perfect man for the job. He knows how to talk to Chris and is able to help him work through his problems.
One night when Chris is hanging out at the local bar he meets Gary Spargo (Matthew Goode). Gary recognizes him and introduces himself. He said he went to the same school but was a couple years ahead of Chris and even dated his sister a couple of times. Gary has a way about him which causes to Chris immediately feel comfortable with him. Chris even opens up to him about the accident, how two of his friends died and how it has personally affected his life.
Not too long after meeting Gary, a pretty girl approaches him. Her name is Luvlee (Isla Fisher) and she is a friend of Gary’s. Chris is immediately attracted to her and enjoys all the attention she is paying him (he hasn’t had much luck with woman after the accident). Both Gary and Luvlee go out of their way to make sure Chris feels important.
It doesn’t take long until we find out what Gary’s ulterior motive is. He and his friends are going to rob a bank and it just so happens that it’s the bank that Chris works as a night janitor at. Chris’s immediate reactions are shock, hurt feelings and refusal to cooperate. However, Gary knows all the right buttons to push and before long he has Chris agreeing to help them.
This is a terrific movie. There are characters you really care about, an interesting story line and a great buildup to a very suspenseful ending. Joseph is amazing. He creates such a believable, multi-layered character and makes you really feel for the guy. Yes, the accident was his fault and resulted in the deaths of two people. However, it wasn’t intentional; it was an impulsive teenage act that he has to face the consequences of for the rest of his life. You can’t help but root for him throughout the story.
I also really enjoyed the interaction between Chris and Lewis. They made a terrific team and even though they sometimes had disagreements you could tell that they really cared about each other. Joseph and Jeff had great chemistry and played off each other very well.
The biggest surprise for me in this movie was Matthew Goode. I had only seen him play good guys before (Matchpoint and Imagine Me & You). I was really impressed with his convincing portrayal of Gary. He could pull off the tough guy bits, but was also able to make him more than just the typical one dimensional bad guy. He brought a lot of depth and charm to the character.
Some of my favorite quotes:
Chris – “I take a shower … with soap.”
Chris – “I eat breakfast but I don’t read the paper. It confuses me, which makes me mad.”
Lewis – “Hey, kid, your mom called to remind you about Thanksgiving. I told her you had a hooker in your room and couldn’t talk just now but that I’d be sure to pass on the message.”
Chris – “Yeah. Well, I call tomatoes “lemons.” I know that’s wrong. And sometimes certain colors have certain smells.”
Gary – “That’s weird.”
Lewis – “Can I say something? You won’t get upset?”
Chris – “What?”
Lewis – “I don’t think you should go home anymore.”
Luvlee – “Me and Alice Watts were, like, “Damn, it must be pretty cool to be Chris Pratt”.”
Lewis – “Son of a b*tch, you got laid.”
Chris – “I don’t really wanna talk about it.”
Lewis – “Oh, but you are, my friend, you are.”
Lewis – “And by stage, I’m assuming you mean the kind with a pole?”
Chris – “What do you mean?”
Lewis – “Let’s move on.”
Lewis – “You know, aside from that Reuben hiccup, I think it went pretty well.”
Lewis – “Please tell me you’re not waving your hand in front of my face.”
Luvlee – “Oh, sorry.”
Lewis – “And what happens if I google Gary?”
Gary – “Whoever has the money has the power.”
Lewis – “Start at the end. Can’t tell a story if you don’t know where it’s going.”
Random Stuff:
Bones is scary.
Chris’s father is an @sshole.
The extra “Behind the Mind of Chris Pratt” was very interesting. Joseph talks about how he prepared for the part. He seems like a very intelligent guy that really takes his work seriously.
Jan
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Following is additional information about the show that contains spoilers. If you don’t want to be spoiled don’t read any further.
I was so sad when they shot and killed Ted. He was a sweet guy.
I felt so bad for Chris. When it finally dawned on him what he had gotten himself into, he tried to get out of it, which of course didn’t work. Now Lewis is in danger because of him. I liked how as he flipped through his little notebook it gave him the clues he needed to formulate a plan to save Lewis. Putting into use Lewis’s “start at the end and work your way forward” advice.
