How to Be (2008)

A young man having an existential crisis convinces a Canadian self-help guru to come to London and become his personal life coach.

Director:

Oliver Irving

Stars:

Robert Pattinson, Rebecca Pidgeon, Powell Jones

6 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Pattinson	...	Art
Rebecca Pidgeon	...	Mother
Powell Jones	...	Dr. Ellington
Jeremy Hardy	...	Jeremy
Michael Irving	...	Father
Mike Pearce	...	Nikki
Johnny White	...	Ronny
Alisa Arnah	...	Jessica
Joe Hastings	...	Dave
Biddy Rowe	...	Woman at Old House
Tim Rowe	...	Boy at Old House
Bart Kusse	...	Child Art
Augustin Irving	...	Child Father
Mirabel Kelly	...	Woman in Supermarket
Bernard Kelly	...	Landlord

Storyline

At first fancying himself an "enigmatic poet", twenty something Art gradually realizes that he must take action if he's going to escape his depressed life as a struggling musician in London. A solution comes in the shape of a book titled "It's Not Your Fault". Not content to just draw inspiration from its pages, however, Art invites the elderly author of the book to come live with him and his parents, which quickly becomes a painfully funny journey about dysfunction and growing up.

---

Plot Keywords:

self help | musician | question in title | camaro | break up | 

---

Taglines:

Sometimes we all need a little help

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 August 2009 (Italy)

Also Known As:

How to Be - Das Leben ist kein Wunschkonzert

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

How To Be Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song in the trailer is the 'Hammond Song' by The Roches.

---

Goofs

During the bar scene, the level of beer in Art's glass jumps around several times, from nearly full to nearly empty and back again.

---

Quotes

Jessica: When we first met you seemed so elusive and brooding and intense, an enigmatic poet. But what I took to be deep and mysterious has just turned out to be really sad and unhappy.

---

Connections

References The Karate Kid (1984)

---

Soundtracks

"Old Man"
Written by Bryan Maclean
Performed by Love

User Reviews

Only watch if you love Pattinson

I do struggle to see how people can seriously review this film higher than maybe a 3. I found the premise of the film to be quite interesting, but for me it failed to deliver- at all. I also knew that I quite enjoyed Robert Pattinson's music usually, and wondered that the character of Art may express his problems through some awesome music- but that didn't happen. Although, I have to admit, I didn't see the film through to the very end so it may suddenly flourish in the last few minutes, however I still wouldn't feel that a film is any good if you have to survive 95% of rubbish to reach something good.

The main weak point in this film is the acting. It's possible all the actors are usually quite good, myself I normally have no problem with Pattinson, but I found there was at best an amateurish feel from most of the cast. I felt I recognised the acting from how my class mates acted in school drama classes, without any real shreds of sincerity.

However there are a lot of reviewers who seemingly would disagree with me. Knowing the hysteria there is about Robert Pattinson, I feel that the high reviews may be sparked by his popularity, and if you love Pattinson then...well... he is in the film, so you will get another dose of him if that's what you're after. However, if you wish for anything else from a film (good acting, humour, excitement, drama, your time not feeling wasted) then you're unlikely to find it here.