Did anyone see this movie?
How was it? As bad as everyone says? :p
boring...
The best things are last
MovieChat Forums > Affluenza (2014) Discussion > Did anyone see this movie?
I saw it few days ago online. It's okay. Nothing special or memorable. Reminded me of films like Havoc (with Anne Hathaway), Alpha Dog, Twelve (with Chase Crawford), and Bling Ring. There was also a movie called LOADED with Jesse Metcalfe and Chase Crawford from 2008 I think that was similar too. Once you've seen one 'spoiled rich hedonistic out of control white kids and their dysfunctional and emotionally distant parents learn that money can't buy happiness' movie you have seen them all.
I only watched it because of Gregg Sulkin and Nicola Peltz. I became aware of Gregg due to him being on the hit MTV show 'Faking It' which is really good and he is excellent on that show. He does a great American accent in that show and in this film as well. I also saw him in another film called 'Another Me', a UK horror film with Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Sophie Hunter where he uses his natural British accent. He was good in that too. I found Nicola through seeing her in Transformers 4 (i love those films) and became aware of her through that film. Haven't seen Bates Motel or Last Airbender yet. This is by far her best performance though. The main kid Fisher reminded me ALOT of Anton Yelchin from Alpha Dog. Similar look, similar character plot, etc.
As far as the film's focus on the 2008 financial crisis, it barely addresses the issue and just uses it as a background smoke screen to represent why these rich families are losing their mansions which in turn causes a bunch of drama. If you wanna see movies that interweave the 2008 economic recession into their story way better, try and watch Margin Call, The Girlfriend Experience, or Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps.
The worst part of the film for me is the scene that bookends the film. It's Fisher in a big fancy office overlooking Manhattan talking to some old business man and he asks the old man "But whats the point of having all this money if you cant connect with the people you love?" It was just so corny and on the nose and I hate when films state the whole theme/message of the movie in one line like that. Could they have been any more obvious and in your face??? Just awful. It really ruined what could have been a decent movie.