Feel I've Seen It

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An antagonistic prick-father-and-pissed-off-son relationship (Jeff Bridges, Justin Timberlake) and a road trip taken with Kate Mara (i.e., Heath Ledger's daughter in Brokeback Mountain) in which it all gets hashed out. And with a title like The Open Road (Anchor Bay, 8.28)...well, how can it miss?

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on August 4, 2009 at 9:03 PM

comment #1

Josh Massey says ...

What an awful voiceover. Sounds like one of those trailer mashups.

That said, Kate Mara. Yum. And talk about the perfect girl - one grandfather owns the Steelers, one grandfather owns the Giants. Football heaven.

Posted by Josh Massey at August 4, 2009 9:52 PM

comment #2

LexG says ...

Kate Mara is one of the hottest firecrotches in Hollywood, just after Rachel Nichols, Lohan, and Isla Fisher.

Though I prefer to think of her as "Urban Legends Bloody Mary's" Kate Mara, or from "24," or "Shooter," or "We Are Marshall."

Posted by LexG at August 4, 2009 10:55 PM

comment #3

LexG says ...

Also, what's with the overcast, wan 1988 film stock? This shit looks like it was processed in the ORION lab alongside "Lost Angels" and "Colors" way back in the day. Coupled with that voiceover, I can't believe this is a new movie.

And, yeah, I'll cop to it just being petty jealousy that he's with Jessica Biel and has banged probably every woman in Hollywood I fantasize about...

But, like, Timberlake is good at what he does but can we stop pretending he's some national treasure, some Renaissance guy who can DO IT ALL-- He acts! He's hilarious! He's great on SNL! His semen is the cure for baldness! It's just annoying and makes you inherently root against him... like, all the great comedians in the world, and somehow this megawatt popstar just has to be the new Alec Baldwin-level knockout host on SNL, all the great actors in the world and this dude's making Richard Kelly movies and starring opposite Jeff Bridges or Christina Ricci or Jessica Alba.

And again, he's quite good at just about anything, but you have to get beyond the star recognition and the annoying fact that guys who've had EVERYTHING GO RIGHT FROM THEM IN THEIR ENTIRE LIVES aren't really compelling leads or rootable funnymen.

It'd be like if Derek Jeter started doing SIDEWAYS-type indie movies on a whim and started getting Oscars for it then took over a movie studio or something. Enough's enough.

Posted by LexG at August 4, 2009 11:07 PM

comment #4

Marty Melville says ...

"but you have to get beyond the star recognition"

careful Lex, your house of cards is trembling.

Posted by Marty Melville at August 4, 2009 11:39 PM

comment #5

MikeSchaeferSF says ...

LexG you are my hero. That is the perfect summing-up of how I feel about JT. Talented? Yes. The Sinatra of his generation? Stop it.

Posted by MikeSchaeferSF at August 5, 2009 7:28 AM

comment #6

Stringer Bell says ...

Sinatra is spinning in his grave.

Just because Timberlake slightly rises above the pure awfulness that is SNL, doesnt make him able to even shine Frank's shoes.

Posted by Stringer Bell at August 5, 2009 8:18 AM

comment #7

EdHavens says ...

Actually, JT *is* the Sinatra of his generation, but only because every other singer/wannabe actor of his generation totally and completely sucks as both singer and actor. Timberlake, by being merely average by any other definition, soars above all overs.

Posted by EdHavens at August 5, 2009 8:57 AM

comment #8

lipranzer says ...

No one's going to mention how awful Bridges' "southern" accent is?

Posted by lipranzer at August 5, 2009 9:03 AM

comment #9

Rod32303 says ...

Bridges is the motherfucking man and rarely gives a bad performance.

And, that "awful" accent? Right on the nose. Come to Tallahassee Florida and talk to every third man here...you'll think Bridges is restrained.

For him alone, I'll see it (though Mara and TImberlake look to be well used in this, too).

Posted by Rod32303 at August 5, 2009 10:01 AM

comment #10

frankbooth says ...

Bridges sounds EXACTLY like M. Emmett Walsh in Blood Simple.
Mouth full of marbles with a drawl.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK7Qeavs79E

Posted by frankbooth at August 5, 2009 12:04 PM

comment #11

Gordon27 says ...

"rarely gives a bad performance."

You might have seen stuff i haven't seen, but what do you mean "rarely"? I often say (and literally mean) that I have never seen Bridges give so much as a single line-reading that felt false. He's definitely done some bad movies, generally elevating them at least in the scenes he's in, but I've never seen him be bad. And I've often seem him be great, and show more range than he gets credit for.

Posted by Gordon27 at August 5, 2009 3:10 PM

comment #12

lipranzer says ...

Bridges indeed is an underrated actor (I recently watched again THE LAST AMERICAN HERO, one of the lost treasures of the 1970's, and one of his best performances), but as far as bad performances, well, the remake of THE VANISHING comes to mind. Granted, nobody came off well in that movie, but for reasons unknown, Bridges decided to sound like Donald Sutherland, which not only made things weird since son Kiefer was playing the hero, but also put a signpost on the character saying, "Hey, look! I'm a creep!" When, of course, the point of the original was how ordinary the guy seemed.

And as far as his facility with accents goes, there's BLOWN AWAY, where he goes in and out with the Boston accent (granted Tommy Lee Jones also has problems with the Irish accent, but still).

Posted by lipranzer at August 5, 2009 8:24 PM

comment #13

DeeZee says ...

Bull Durham: The Later Years?

Posted by DeeZee at August 5, 2009 11:17 PM

comment #14

yokek says ...

Bridges decided to sound like Donald Sutherland, which not only made things weird since son Kiefer good like Formal Gowns Prom Gowns Shop prom dresses, formal dresses, prom shoes, 2010 designer prom gowns at dres4sale.

Posted by yokek at March 11, 2010 8:06 PM

comment #15