On paper, Maggie’s Plan looks like an indie slam-dunk. It’s a New York-based walk-and-talk romantic comedy/anti-romantic comedy. It stars Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke, Julianne Moore, Bill Hader and Maya Rudolph, not to mention an all-too-brief turn from Wallace Shawn.Yet, the results feel oddly unremarkable and muted, even sorta plain. And there’s no good reason why that should be the case: http://www.cutprintfilm.com/reviews/maggies-plan/
shareMaybe your expectations were too high. You can't like everything you want to like. I personally loved it but very often I find that movies that I look forward to are less than what I expected. In 12-step we have a saying that goes: "Expectations are planned disappointments". True in a lot of cases; makes the case for being a pessimist! LOL
I love your ID. DarlesChickens. That's awesome. I don't know why, but it is.
The movie certainly doesn't reinvent the wheel, and it's not really aiming particularly high on any level, but I thought it was a perfectly well executed, and enjoyable piece of work. Muted, and plain would not be inaccurate ways of describing it, but it also doesn't look like a lack of effort has gone into the thing. It's a movie over which care has been taken.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31z8JwabaIk
Cool.
shareIt is indeed disappointing for everyone involved, and downright embarrassing when it comes to Julianne Moore's character. I found the dialogue overwritten and the characters too extreme to make this more than a footnote in the cast's careers. A little subtlety and nuance would have gone a long way here; a lot of it could have made this a wonderful film.
shareI made a point of seeing Maggie's Plan after it appeared on so many critic's lists of the best movies of the year. I suppose that's a classic set-up for disappointment, but even so.... It's a fairly underwhelming movie, about on par with Woody Allen's most lacklustre efforts. Indeed, it is very much a wannabe Woody Allen effort... neurotic artists and academics, angst-ridden relationships, characters talking endlessly about love and the meaning of life, the way nobody ever does in real life... The film's only real asset is a committed central performance by Greta Gerwig. Otherwise, it's notable mainly for an astoundingly off-key performance from Julianne Moore, who fails miserably to nail a Danish accent and at times seems to be channelling Frau Blucher from Young Frankenstein, which makes for some truly embarrassing scenes.
shareWe couldn't agree with you more. Here's a podcast review by Hollywood critics, Les Roberts and Ann Elder: https://www.thefrontporchpeople.com/greenlightreviews/maggies-plan
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