Viewed in
2011
Formats
Movie theater
Premise
George Clooney stars as the father of a dysfunctional Hawaiian family who's about to lose his wife.
Liked
Acting.
Thoughts
It was well done and well-acted, but it never blew me away.
As expected, Clooney was very strong as the disconnected leading man. Judy Greer, usually known for comedic characters, showed some excellent dramatic chops in a supporting role. Robert Forster also put in fantastic minutes as the critical father-in-law. But I did not expect the younger cast members to nearly steal the show, especially Shailene Woodley as Clooney's disillusioned daughter and Nick Krause as the dopey Sid.
The film never really had any weak points, but I was never swept away by it either. The entire first hour seemed to just go through the motions, as if it was a checklist for "how to win an Oscar with a dysfunctional quirky family movie", and you could see it cross off items one by one. The voiceover narration technique felt hackneyed.
Having said that, when the second half rolled in, the characters grew on me, and there was some emotional payoff.
I really enjoyed the acting in The Descendants, but for most of the film, it felt like it screamed "Best Picture, please!" while extending hand, expecting a prize, a la Stephen Colbert.
