★ 1 / 10
It says a lot – or very little
tmdb28039023
It says a lot – or very little – about Big Gold Brick that it is an example of the book being better than the movie, even though the ‘book’ is completely…
It says a lot – or very little – about Big Gold Brick that it is an example of the book being better than the movie, even though the ‘book’ is completely fictional – not its content, mind you, but its very existence. The film, narrated by Samuel Liston (Emory Cohen), is an account of the experiences that inspired him to write a novel called “With Gold Bricks” (a title as arbitrary as that of the movie itself); a tome so hefty as to give the impression of depth, just like the movie’s 132-minute running time gives the illusion of substance. The truth is, however, that director Brian Petsos’s script can’t be said to barely scrape the surface because it’s too shallow to even have a surface to scrape.
What we have here is essentially a collection of loose ends and unresolved plot points. We are introduced to a group of characters who are each given a couple of personality traits in lieu of an actual personality, as well as backstories that could fit in a cue card – they sure sound like they are being read right off one – and are never developed in the slightest. Of one it is said that “His penchant for mischief hadn't yet become a serious cause for concern”. Well, guess what? It never does. Of another one we are told that “Her growing sorrow helped turn occasional drinking into frequent cocaine use”. Other than a “mini breakdown” (emphasis on “mini”), she is never sorrowful, or high, or even tipsy – in fact, this character exists exclusively to provide a last second romantic interest.
Samuel himself opens the movie telling us that “I never believed in anything really. And then I met Floyd [Andy García]”. Whether he now believes in something, and if so, what that is, or how his meeting with Floyd influenced his current beliefs, is never made clear. Nor is the nature of the Santa Claus doll with which Samuel has conversations that may be real or may be imagined – who the hell knows? In any case, the doll disappears halfway through the movie and is never seen of heard from again.
And so on and so forth. Again and again connections between two things are hinted at, but a cause-and-effect relationship is never established. Characters do and say things that come out of nowhere and lead straight back there. There is no rhyme or reason to anything that happens, nor is there any method to the madness. We can’t like or care about any of the people in the movie because they remain until the end unknowable ciphers, and the movie itself, while not necessarily boring, is too long and uneventful to actually be entertaining. Nothing to see here, really.
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★ 4 / 10
A movie that crams way too much in for its own good
axlerod88
What could go wrong with such a high quality cast & production that is so well connected? Well I had to see for myself. The performances were good considering…
What could go wrong with such a high quality cast & production that is so well connected? Well I had to see for myself. The performances were good considering what they were given to work with. A script that tries to cram too much flash & expose for its own good.
The plot like a Seinfeld episode has Floyd, played by Andy Garcia, accidentally hits Samuel (Emory Cohen) with his car. Unbeknownst to him, Samuel is very troubled individual. Feeling guilty, Floyd invites Samuel to stay with his family & to be his autobiographer.
I feel that this film tried too hard to be too many things. The script & direction needed more focus. I thought things would improve when Samuel moved in with Floyd's family. It had a Royal Tennebaum's vibe but the laughs were few & far between. Meagan Fox stole every scene that she was in but she was under utilized. The pacing was off & the movie as a whole suffered for this.
Disturbed Samuel thought that he was moving into home life that he never had. But little did he know that the family had their own quirks & issues. This should have led to more laughs but the first half of the movie moved at a glacial pace & the quirkiness that we hoped for never materialized.
That when the payoff comes at the end, it was just too rushed & everything too nicely tied up. Aside from the good performances & high production values, I can't honestly recommend this.
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TOMATOMETER
· 33 reviews
65%
AUDIENCE
3.5/10
1.7K
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You have to be a twat to believe review ratings, as all is subjective in these things to the individual. For me the movie would have worked with it's fairly good cast, but for the wally who got the central role and his TERRIBLE wig. The guy was as carboard as f*ck. And brought down the tone for everything else