I hated this movie...
"What have I done?" is what I asked when I started the movie after the barrage of previews of movies I had no desire to see. I've promised myself never to skip previews because I have respect for films, especially independents and low budget, that want to be advertised. It was foreshadowing, I just knew it.
I've been on a Buscemi kick as of late (and by late I mean for two months) and I decided to purchase this movie as it was $3 in a bin at Big Lots. That's right, I purchased this film. "What the..." was a common theme in my dialogue with the movie. (I often converse with my movies as much as possible. It's a one-sided conversation.)
But somewhere in the movie, I don't know if it was after the conversations with Lula began to become more real or when Kitty "shower sang" during the church choir, I began to actually enjoy the movie.
Don't get me wrong, the beginning of the movie is something of a drug-induced nightmare. Though I did thoroughly enjoy the fantasy scene with the firemen dancing all about the place and Lula's red-headed fire trying to be put out by a less than enthusiastic hose.
It was obvious at the beginning of the movie that the film didn't take itself seriously. I think that fact is what made the end of the movie so compelling. Because in the end it was relatable. Even the daughters, cast way too old, were relatable. And I think it was the surprise when I realized I was enjoying watching the movie that made the R&C so much better than I thought it was going to be.
Having gone through my parents' divorce I can relate it to being a surreal time in my life. It offered many of the same social exchanges even if it wasn't the same story. I didn't escape through music but I did escape through just as fantasy-like devices. And it's that surreality represented in the film that made it so real for me. Because it's not showing you how the story happened but, rather, how it felt.
So to all of those that dislike this movie, kudos. Because it was a terrible movie in all the aspects that you say. But I ended up falling in love with it. In the end, it was worth the watch. Certainly it's not of my top five (if I even have a top five) but it's worth the viewing even if you do end up hating it. Just...don't buy it, okay? At least not until you like it. Because that was scary!
The tape recorder in the end. That's what got me.