At first I didn't like this movie at all and thought it was the worst film I'd seen in a long time. It was slow moving, the songs were dreadful and depressing, and the characters a collection of certifiable oddballs. Then, I watched it a second time with my daughter and it sort of grew on me. I still don't think the 5 characters were fleshed out enough but they were intriguing which made us want to know them better.
The street singer, Jody: She knew she had a bad heart and her doctor advised her against doing wind-sprint running and as soon as she left his office, that was the first thing she did. Did this woman have a death wish? She was a very odd looking person with a strange singing voice. Her songs went well with this movie but actually, if I had to listen to a DVD on heard them on the radio, I really wouldn't like them that much. I don't think her musical style is commercial at all and is best suited to folk bars. I think she and the unfaithful married guy were a fit pair.
Malissa: Why was it necessary to set the trailer on fire with her mother's body in it? I think it was supposed to symbolize her starting her life at last without the weight of her mother's hatred upon her. I felt so bad for her - it wasn't her fault that she was the child of rape, but it was weird that she took pictures of rapists and their mothers. I don't see why she was so opposed to wearing glasses either - why not get contact lenses then? Other than that, she seemed like an intelligent young lady and I wished her a good life with someone who really loved her.
I thought Sam and Rocky Blue were just plain strange - at least the dad seemed to develop some common sense at the end and realized he actually did care about the boy's biological mother. The boy seemed to have more sense than his dad. I thought it was a bit much that he just happened to be seeking someone (or something) and wandered into Malissa's room. She knew nothing whatever about him, yet the fact that he said he liked her better without her glasses and offered to smash them, made her realize that she didn't want her tubes tied after all and maybe having children wasn't the worst thing in the world, if they were conceived under the right circumstances. I don't think their encounter was done well at all.
Sam Blue seemed to be a bit of a baby - still bitter because he was jilted and hardening his heart against a real relationship with a woman. He was smothering his son too, so it was a good thing that he decided to have a relationship with the boy's biological mom in the end. The boy seemed to need a woman's or a mother's influence in his life.
I thought the unfaithful husband was just plain boring. Many married men have realized the folly of an extramarital affair and lost their wives because of it. I didn't feel a bit sorry for him at all - nobody made him choose to be unfaithful and he damn well knew what could happen if his wife found out. He just seemed stupid and pathetic.
Herb Schweitzer (Alan King) seemed to be the stereotypical crusty, nostalgic old widower. We did sense his loneliness, fear and helplessness over the loss of his wife, his past youth, and his good health. He was really out of place in the world and seemed not to really want to stick around. The background music accompanying his scenes made you want to commit suicide!!
I didn't get the point of that guy dancing with a blow up doll on the street corner or why so many people would stop to watch him. I'm not sure what the writer/director was trying to say.
All in all, a very intriguing film with characters that could have been rounded out a little more.
The street singer, Jody: She knew she had a bad heart and her doctor advised her against doing wind-sprint running and as soon as she left his office, that was the first thing she did. Did this woman have a death wish? She was a very odd looking person with a strange singing voice. Her songs went well with this movie but actually, if I had to listen to a DVD on heard them on the radio, I really wouldn't like them that much. I don't think her musical style is commercial at all and is best suited to folk bars. I think she and the unfaithful married guy were a fit pair.
Malissa: Why was it necessary to set the trailer on fire with her mother's body in it? I think it was supposed to symbolize her starting her life at last without the weight of her mother's hatred upon her. I felt so bad for her - it wasn't her fault that she was the child of rape, but it was weird that she took pictures of rapists and their mothers. I don't see why she was so opposed to wearing glasses either - why not get contact lenses then? Other than that, she seemed like an intelligent young lady and I wished her a good life with someone who really loved her.
I thought Sam and Rocky Blue were just plain strange - at least the dad seemed to develop some common sense at the end and realized he actually did care about the boy's biological mother. The boy seemed to have more sense than his dad. I thought it was a bit much that he just happened to be seeking someone (or something) and wandered into Malissa's room. She knew nothing whatever about him, yet the fact that he said he liked her better without her glasses and offered to smash them, made her realize that she didn't want her tubes tied after all and maybe having children wasn't the worst thing in the world, if they were conceived under the right circumstances. I don't think their encounter was done well at all.
Sam Blue seemed to be a bit of a baby - still bitter because he was jilted and hardening his heart against a real relationship with a woman. He was smothering his son too, so it was a good thing that he decided to have a relationship with the boy's biological mom in the end. The boy seemed to need a woman's or a mother's influence in his life.
I thought the unfaithful husband was just plain boring. Many married men have realized the folly of an extramarital affair and lost their wives because of it. I didn't feel a bit sorry for him at all - nobody made him choose to be unfaithful and he damn well knew what could happen if his wife found out. He just seemed stupid and pathetic.
Herb Schweitzer (Alan King) seemed to be the stereotypical crusty, nostalgic old widower. We did sense his loneliness, fear and helplessness over the loss of his wife, his past youth, and his good health. He was really out of place in the world and seemed not to really want to stick around. The background music accompanying his scenes made you want to commit suicide!!
I didn't get the point of that guy dancing with a blow up doll on the street corner or why so many people would stop to watch him. I'm not sure what the writer/director was trying to say.
All in all, a very intriguing film with characters that could have been rounded out a little more.