40 reviews
The good: everything is off in this story. It's off on purpose though. The characters, especially one, is quite certain a total weirdo, but the whole story oozes weirdness. Not laugh out loud funny weird, but more of a smirky, quirky kinda weird humor.
More good: what made it also interesting for me to watch, were the terrific (weird) soundtrack and the photography. Both were excellent. The acting is great as well.
The bad: weird characters in weird stories can be interesting, but I always need to feel that the main character is humanlike. That isnt the case though, making it harder for me to sympathize with the leading character, who is a total f90k up and a incredibly blunt and unsympathetic weird guy.
The story: an insecure, middle aged f80k up is desperately trying to be succesful in acting and directing. He is terrible at both though. He is a terrible person as well. Just totally unsympathetic. Wanna watch 1 hour and 15 minutes of a weird obnoxious dude?
Recommended only for those arthouse movie fans, who like weird...
More good: what made it also interesting for me to watch, were the terrific (weird) soundtrack and the photography. Both were excellent. The acting is great as well.
The bad: weird characters in weird stories can be interesting, but I always need to feel that the main character is humanlike. That isnt the case though, making it harder for me to sympathize with the leading character, who is a total f90k up and a incredibly blunt and unsympathetic weird guy.
The story: an insecure, middle aged f80k up is desperately trying to be succesful in acting and directing. He is terrible at both though. He is a terrible person as well. Just totally unsympathetic. Wanna watch 1 hour and 15 minutes of a weird obnoxious dude?
Recommended only for those arthouse movie fans, who like weird...
This was the opening film of the Rotterdam film festival 2017 (iffr.com), and as such may give rise to expectations of something remarkable or otherwise special. Alas, I cannot think of many positive remarks about this film. Several people around me had a lot of laughs throughout the running time, but I had mostly trouble to produce even a tiny smile. Maybe I'm embarrassed seeing a definite loser on a definitely downhill path, where everything he does fails on him. And it would certainly have helped when Isaac had only been just a tiny bit of sympathetic. Now it is all just sad, nothing humorous about it. I know that many people delight (schadenfreude) in the suffering of others, but I'm not one of those. (Counter example: I love all the Ulrich Seidl movies, where you also find yourself embarrassed while watching, wondering whether you can stand it much longer. Nevertheless, I always endure to the end and even watch these movies more than once. Best example: his Paradise trilogy, especially Paradise: Love.) Anyway, apart from me the audience was not happy with this movie either, as it ranked a lowly 158th (out of 172) place for the audience award.
There were some links between Isaac's life at home and the acting classes (like the "I I I" that offended his girlfriend in an early scene). Are these classes an artificial construct, introduced by the film makers, in order to make a point?? (If yes, I missed it.) Or is it just a means to humiliate others or to showcase his own shortcomings?? (Partly, see next paragraph.)
The final Q&A clarified several things. For example: this movie resembles the lives of the film makers, feeling out of place (black, Jewish, etc), and it resembles their personalities too. There was a question about music and composer, but the answer escaped me. There was a very valid question about acting classes, coming down to: are they really that way?? The answer was that teachers are very abusive and impulsive as a rule. They can quit class and run out, or behave otherwise very crazy. There was a question about the family reunion, whether it was for real?? The answer was that a comedy can make sweet what is shown on screen. It is something not happening to you, so you can feel good in spite of it, like feeling less lonely. Lastly, the Q&A clarified the title of the film: Lemon stands for a lame person or thing, or something useless or crappy. As the film makers explained, that meaning of the word is obvious to all native English speakers.
Finally, a positive remark, in spite of everything: in the closing scene where Isaac's car is taken away to a garage or more probably a scrap yard (Isaac: "it just died on me"), we see the final credits roll by. For that reason these credits seemed not overly long, unlike the feeling I have with other movies. I've the impression that credits become longer every day, exhaustively mentioning even the smallest contribution in full (catering, chauffeur, and so on). It can be that this all is necessary in the context of financing the project, but it borders on annoying and only forces you to grab a flashlight and leave the venue before the lights get on.
There were some links between Isaac's life at home and the acting classes (like the "I I I" that offended his girlfriend in an early scene). Are these classes an artificial construct, introduced by the film makers, in order to make a point?? (If yes, I missed it.) Or is it just a means to humiliate others or to showcase his own shortcomings?? (Partly, see next paragraph.)
The final Q&A clarified several things. For example: this movie resembles the lives of the film makers, feeling out of place (black, Jewish, etc), and it resembles their personalities too. There was a question about music and composer, but the answer escaped me. There was a very valid question about acting classes, coming down to: are they really that way?? The answer was that teachers are very abusive and impulsive as a rule. They can quit class and run out, or behave otherwise very crazy. There was a question about the family reunion, whether it was for real?? The answer was that a comedy can make sweet what is shown on screen. It is something not happening to you, so you can feel good in spite of it, like feeling less lonely. Lastly, the Q&A clarified the title of the film: Lemon stands for a lame person or thing, or something useless or crappy. As the film makers explained, that meaning of the word is obvious to all native English speakers.
Finally, a positive remark, in spite of everything: in the closing scene where Isaac's car is taken away to a garage or more probably a scrap yard (Isaac: "it just died on me"), we see the final credits roll by. For that reason these credits seemed not overly long, unlike the feeling I have with other movies. I've the impression that credits become longer every day, exhaustively mentioning even the smallest contribution in full (catering, chauffeur, and so on). It can be that this all is necessary in the context of financing the project, but it borders on annoying and only forces you to grab a flashlight and leave the venue before the lights get on.
Little bit of strange, that this has comedy genre attached to it, when there is really nothing funny about this movie. Awkward - sure, stupid - maybe, but funny? Not really. It's mostly just a character study of a sociopath, but it fails at that too, since towards the end, you don't really know that much more about the main character as you knew in the beginning.
I still kinda liked the movie, I think if you are able to enjoy movies about sociopaths like for example "The Fanatic" , then you'll be able to enjoy this one too.
I still kinda liked the movie, I think if you are able to enjoy movies about sociopaths like for example "The Fanatic" , then you'll be able to enjoy this one too.
- HorrorEnjoyer
- Sep 16, 2020
- Permalink
- meghancromie-25103
- Apr 5, 2017
- Permalink
This is the only movie that I have ever taken the time to write a review for on IMDb, and my sole motivation is the hope that someone will see this and save themselves the 85 masochistic minutes that I just put myself through. This is one of those movies that you want to turn off from the moment you start but you just keep watching in the hopes that it will get better, and the next thing you know it's an hour in, the movie is still terrible, and screw it - you might as well finish it at this point because the prescription opiates haven't worn off yet.
My girlfriend roped me into this debacle with a trailer that promised a mix between Juno and Wes Anderson, but what I got instead was A Serious Man after it had been eaten by a 400 pound trucker named Larry, poorly digested, and ultimately deposited into a toilet bowl at a rest stop. This movie is so bad that I actually felt it was below Michael Cera to take this role. Michael Cera is too good of an actor to be in this movie. Let that sink in.
This "film" feels exactly like what it is - a poorly executed imitation of some of the great indie films of our time, written by a man and a woman who likely knew that no one in their right mind would make this thing so they had to make it themselves. It has all awkwardness and low-budget characteristics of Napoleon Dynamite but with none of the charm, and its attempts at humor are so forced that I'm not sure an entire bottle of Dulcolax could have moved things along.
We as a society love a good bit of cringe in our films, since art often imitates life. If you like a good cringe every now and then, you might look forward to the scene in which the protagonist (whatever his forgettable character name was) attempts to kiss his (also forgettably named) male co-star. On the surface, this scene should have made my skin crawl, but instead my skin was crawling as I thought about the fact that someone actually invested time and money to put this lightly-polished piece of garbage into the annals of film history and expect people to revere it as art. If this is art then the scab I tore off my leg while watching YouTube earlier today is a Van Gogh.
I could further analyze on a scene-by-scene basis, but frankly I am close to nausea already as I rehash just exactly how angry it made me to sit and watch attempt after attempt to be a quirky indie movie fall shorter than Tyrion Lannister.
I would rather lobotomize myself with a chopstick than watch this movie again.
My girlfriend roped me into this debacle with a trailer that promised a mix between Juno and Wes Anderson, but what I got instead was A Serious Man after it had been eaten by a 400 pound trucker named Larry, poorly digested, and ultimately deposited into a toilet bowl at a rest stop. This movie is so bad that I actually felt it was below Michael Cera to take this role. Michael Cera is too good of an actor to be in this movie. Let that sink in.
This "film" feels exactly like what it is - a poorly executed imitation of some of the great indie films of our time, written by a man and a woman who likely knew that no one in their right mind would make this thing so they had to make it themselves. It has all awkwardness and low-budget characteristics of Napoleon Dynamite but with none of the charm, and its attempts at humor are so forced that I'm not sure an entire bottle of Dulcolax could have moved things along.
We as a society love a good bit of cringe in our films, since art often imitates life. If you like a good cringe every now and then, you might look forward to the scene in which the protagonist (whatever his forgettable character name was) attempts to kiss his (also forgettably named) male co-star. On the surface, this scene should have made my skin crawl, but instead my skin was crawling as I thought about the fact that someone actually invested time and money to put this lightly-polished piece of garbage into the annals of film history and expect people to revere it as art. If this is art then the scab I tore off my leg while watching YouTube earlier today is a Van Gogh.
I could further analyze on a scene-by-scene basis, but frankly I am close to nausea already as I rehash just exactly how angry it made me to sit and watch attempt after attempt to be a quirky indie movie fall shorter than Tyrion Lannister.
I would rather lobotomize myself with a chopstick than watch this movie again.
I watched it tonight. Glad I stayed with it. Enjoyed the characters, cast and soundtrack and it's not your high dollar Hollywood film.
My only criticisms are the slow pace and not a lot of character back story. But, hey, I know what I like.
My only criticisms are the slow pace and not a lot of character back story. But, hey, I know what I like.
- abvinson-99658
- Mar 13, 2020
- Permalink
Watching this movie is like listening to someone drag their nails across a chalkboard. I'm confident that worse movies have been made made but something about this film was so offensive to my senses that withing the first half hour it registered deep within my psyche as THE WORST movie I've seen. It was stilted & disjointed with lifeless performances (I assume by direction) of detestable character. Everything about this movie screamed out the pretentiousness of the film maker. It plays like Janicza Bravo decided to make an inspired film, put all the wheels in motion and then set out to find the inspiration. I've read positive reviews that tacitly accused me of failing to appreciate the dark, deadpan, absurdist humor. My response to those reviewers is to go see 'The Lobster'. 'The Lobster' was a dark, deadpan, absurdist comedy that was inspired and expertly executed. Lemon was, to use a colloquial pun, a lemon.
- workshop-226-743561
- Aug 22, 2017
- Permalink
It's difficult to rate this movie as for me I'd give an 8 as I was really amused throughout. A score for a wider audience would be much lower as it's quite a divisive film. I think the film is trying to make fun of the pretentiousness and self- absorbed nature of the characters, and one of the ways is by filming in an arch, avante garde manner. The style reminded me a lot of Yorgos Lanthimos in the way characters dispassionately speak past each other and the rather surreal nature of a lot of scenes. Most of the characters aren't particularly likable or relatable but that's good in my opinion. Why should a character in a movie be relatable to my life?, and it's the bad or unlikable characters that are the most interesting in a film. That's not to say the characters are bad, just rather solipsistic.
- asastewart
- Dec 10, 2017
- Permalink
I have never been SO fooled by a trailer in my life. I love just about every single person in this movie, and am sorry they felt like being apart of this project was a good idea. Meningless, boring, stupid, not at all funny.
This had a point and nailed it. Nothing but dry completely over the top, 'those' people you may know in a less than functional, paint eating, middle and faux-upper 'modern/arty' society.
Oy vey, hurts but no regrets.
This film tells the story of a socially awkward man, whose girlfriend of ten years left him suddenly. He tries to live his life as normal, but his life is anything but normal.
Honestly, the first ten minutes of the film is already horrible. The protagonist is such an socially awkward man, and he just does not know how to be around people. The film itself is super awkward as well, as there are dialogs such as a man saying "I need you", then the woman replies "my sister is double parking". This type of illogical conversation happens constantly in the film. The dialogs are so ridiculous and logically unconnected, that the plot just makes no sense. I do not find the film funny, engaging or sympathetic at all. It is a waste of my time, and my poorly informed decision to have watched this film.
Honestly, the first ten minutes of the film is already horrible. The protagonist is such an socially awkward man, and he just does not know how to be around people. The film itself is super awkward as well, as there are dialogs such as a man saying "I need you", then the woman replies "my sister is double parking". This type of illogical conversation happens constantly in the film. The dialogs are so ridiculous and logically unconnected, that the plot just makes no sense. I do not find the film funny, engaging or sympathetic at all. It is a waste of my time, and my poorly informed decision to have watched this film.
This is definitely off beat, off the beaten track, off center. It is not anyone's normal, so try it yourself and see if you like it.
It's odd, very odd. I liked it and I cannot tell you why. I DO like Brett Gelman, Judy Greer and Michael Cera. Let's not leave out Nia Long and Marla Gibbs!
It's like a new weird ice cream flavor - give it a go. You have nothing to lose - AND you might just like it!
It's odd, very odd. I liked it and I cannot tell you why. I DO like Brett Gelman, Judy Greer and Michael Cera. Let's not leave out Nia Long and Marla Gibbs!
It's like a new weird ice cream flavor - give it a go. You have nothing to lose - AND you might just like it!
I try to find a silver lining in everything but I can't find anything in this movie. Bad script, bad story...actually no story, bad everything. So fair WARNING - do not waist your money. I would not want my name associated with the making of this film in any way. It makes "The Room" movie (best worst movie) look like an Oscar contender.
- SteveTesta
- Dec 13, 2017
- Permalink
What a total piece of garbage Lemon was. My god. From the over done art house approach to the monotone boring protagonist this movie was absolute trash. I can appreciate an abstract or absurd comedy such as "The Comedy". But what makes this one fall flat on it's face is the fact that it just seems like it's being abstract for the sake of it rather than being a comedy that happens to be weird. It's also incredibly dull and is by NO means a legitimate piece of art house cinema. AVOID this movie you will be glad you did.
- Joetampa90
- Sep 11, 2017
- Permalink
My girlfriend and I wasted around 15 minutes on this movie before turning it off, which is 15 minutes more than it deserves, and I generally like weird movies. Just because something has that quirky/indie feel to it, that doesn't automatically make it a masterpiece. Well, maybe in some circles, but you know, these days when people have very little spare time and can choose from an ever increasing number of entertainment options, rambling on too long about nothing is not a very good strategy to captivate the audience. Get to the point.
Honestly I think the director 'pulled a fast one' on these actors to make fools of themselves!
I watched it start to finish and the entire time the thought WTF was going through my head. It's just a long line of incomprehensible dialog, acting, scenes, and the plot just sort of rolls around like a loose orange in the floor of a moving automobile.
Picking at a scab is more meaningful than this sorry movie.
I watched it start to finish and the entire time the thought WTF was going through my head. It's just a long line of incomprehensible dialog, acting, scenes, and the plot just sort of rolls around like a loose orange in the floor of a moving automobile.
Picking at a scab is more meaningful than this sorry movie.
I saw it for the actors in the movie but that was a horrible decision. Calling this movie garbage would be a kind review. Makes absolutely no sense at all and feel like its being made boring by choice. Wannabe art cinema. I don't see what was the point of ever making this movie. Definitely not worth a watch.
- vineet-harbhajanka
- Aug 18, 2017
- Permalink
Huh this movie had a good cast. But it was missing, well, a lot. Visually it was decent, good soundtrack, it wasn't poorly made. But, it was so boring, uneventful. I wish i had the 80 minutes back. At least it was short.
I know this movie isn't for everyone, but it appears that many negative reviews are the result of people not being able to empathize and have compassion for the main character, rather than being focused on any specific qualities of the movie. While it is understandable that you might have a negative reaction to this dark, witty portrait of a very troubled man, it is a shame that so many will be turned off by the generalizations and surface complaints in many of the negative reviews and never have a chance to experience something different. And Lemon is different.
This is a movie about Isaac, played perfectly by Brett Gelman, who compulsively turns off everyone around him. He is obnoxious. He is self-centered. He has no "people" skills. Yet, he is trying. And that is the thread that ties the movie together. We witness a never-ending series of Isaac's attempts to connect with his girlfriend, who dumps him, and with the people he teaches in his theater class, and with a commercial director hilariously played in a cameo by Megan Mullally, and with a new love interest. There are excruciating scenes demonstrating Isaac's awkwardness in every situation, but the actor and the director, Janicza Bravo particularly mine the differences (real and imagined) between Isaac's eccentric white, Jewish family and his new love interest's African American family for some dry humor.
Throughout the movie, while it is exasperating at times to see Isaac ruin his relationships with his dysfunctional and at times even hostile behavior toward others, Gelman admirably gives Isaac a crucial likability, nonetheless, that keeps us hoping he will succeed at something, and with someone, and gives Isaac the humanity that gives some of us the empathy to understand that he is not evil - he's just a mess, emotionally and physically. This is a rare movie experience, albeit an often uncomfortable one. However, it is a real achievement that there is a lot of dark humor to smile about, and a lot of creative, realistic dialog that propels the story and makes us know and understand Isaac and the other characters enough to care about them. It was a pleasure to see this movie, and I hope there is a lot more to come from Bravo and Gelman, who are married in real life.
This is a movie about Isaac, played perfectly by Brett Gelman, who compulsively turns off everyone around him. He is obnoxious. He is self-centered. He has no "people" skills. Yet, he is trying. And that is the thread that ties the movie together. We witness a never-ending series of Isaac's attempts to connect with his girlfriend, who dumps him, and with the people he teaches in his theater class, and with a commercial director hilariously played in a cameo by Megan Mullally, and with a new love interest. There are excruciating scenes demonstrating Isaac's awkwardness in every situation, but the actor and the director, Janicza Bravo particularly mine the differences (real and imagined) between Isaac's eccentric white, Jewish family and his new love interest's African American family for some dry humor.
Throughout the movie, while it is exasperating at times to see Isaac ruin his relationships with his dysfunctional and at times even hostile behavior toward others, Gelman admirably gives Isaac a crucial likability, nonetheless, that keeps us hoping he will succeed at something, and with someone, and gives Isaac the humanity that gives some of us the empathy to understand that he is not evil - he's just a mess, emotionally and physically. This is a rare movie experience, albeit an often uncomfortable one. However, it is a real achievement that there is a lot of dark humor to smile about, and a lot of creative, realistic dialog that propels the story and makes us know and understand Isaac and the other characters enough to care about them. It was a pleasure to see this movie, and I hope there is a lot more to come from Bravo and Gelman, who are married in real life.
- AmericanKestrel
- Jul 27, 2020
- Permalink
I read through the various reviews and it would appear that many either hated this film or thought it a brilliant piece of avant garde comedy. I decided to give it a try and I'm afraid to say that the title appears to refer to the film itself and not the character, as intended. I understand what the writing team of director(Bravo) and main actor(Gelman) were trying to do but they failed miserably in their attempt to make a "squirmy" comedy. I enjoy the uncomfortable type of comedy a la Ricky Gervais but this film never finds the humor in any of the contrived situations. The main character (Brett Gelman) is someone who, in real life, would never be able to function in the world. He is shooting for a socially awkward person but instead, has created a vile, spiteful, and completely dysfunctional man-child that leaves no opening to like in any way. A person who cannot perform the smallest of social skills would not have been hired as a drama professor in any college. We are supposed to believe that a beautiful and apparently sweet, normal woman (Nia Long) would go out with this man who appears to have just landed from Mars, THEN consent to another date after a clearly failed first meeting AND then invite him to her meet the family (in a rather sadly stereo-typed gathering). To drive home the point that this person is a "lemon", he is married to a blind woman who will not allow him to touch her and dates other men---it's so funny(no, it's not). There is a gathering of the Lemon's siblings at the parent's home and, again, no humor ensues. I could not tell if there was even a script for these scenes or if the actors told to just improvise.
The film is just a conglomeration of contrived, solemn scenes that, I suppose, certain hipsters are interpreting as cutting edge comedy. It's so funny because it's not. Get it?
What's really sad is that there is a large cast of talented people(the reason for 2 stars) and all are given absolutely nothing to do but swim through this muck.
I am giving this movie one star under the assumption that it was all an elaborate ruse to have the viewer truly understand what a lemon is. I feel, at the core of my being, that I now know what it feels to be sold a bill of goods that is an absolute broken down stinker. I am still not sure if there was a point and can't even make one up if I could. If the title is ironic - one star. If not-zero stars.
I'm not quite sure what writers Janicza Bravo and Brett Gelman had in mind when they wrote this piece of Cali-based garbage, but it never seemed to find its footing. It deals with this California cuckoo bird whose life devolves when his misfit of a girlfriend breaks up with him. Of course being surrounded by other Cali kookynuts doesn't help his plight either, but despite his half assed attempts to turn his life around and stop the free fall he's experiencing, he can't seem to alter his fate. There were a couple of good scenes, a Passover Seder meal with the main character's dysfunctional family, headed by the amazing Rhea Perlman and Fred Melamed as his parents. The other was a barbecue at his girlfriend's family's house at the end of the film. Among a handful of funny, though stereotypical characters, was Marla Gibbs as the family matriarch. It was nice seeing them. These two scenes are the reason I awarded this bomb three stars. If not for the supporting somewhat loony family and friends who populate his life, this ridiculous cinematic Cali nonsense would have had nothing going for it at all. Janicza and Brett, go back to film school and learn how to write.
- myronlearn
- Jun 2, 2023
- Permalink
Summary (no spoilers) even though I feel like spoiling it for everyone
The movie is about a man who watches his life change after he is left by his girlfriend who was with him for the past 10 years.
My Review (no spoilers)
The plot for this movie is just too horrible there is nothing to laugh in this movie it only makes us angry and irritated. It's like the director and the writers were really bored with their life so why not spoil others even if it's for just one and a half hour. Even the actors in this movie were really bored with this story line their body language showed it. The ending of this movie was really boring made me realize that this is a one and a half hour of my life which I will never get back wasted on something so horrible.
My Recommendation
Beware of this movie
My Rating
0/10
The movie is about a man who watches his life change after he is left by his girlfriend who was with him for the past 10 years.
My Review (no spoilers)
The plot for this movie is just too horrible there is nothing to laugh in this movie it only makes us angry and irritated. It's like the director and the writers were really bored with their life so why not spoil others even if it's for just one and a half hour. Even the actors in this movie were really bored with this story line their body language showed it. The ending of this movie was really boring made me realize that this is a one and a half hour of my life which I will never get back wasted on something so horrible.
My Recommendation
Beware of this movie
My Rating
0/10
- vishnu-dileep08
- Oct 20, 2017
- Permalink
- jared-jackson88
- Aug 28, 2019
- Permalink