2009-02-03 - 11:03 p.m.
i've seen this faggot movie, benjamin button, wanted to like it. didn't like it.
i tried to let it sink in and be poignant. but when the script is full of crap...
ok, there was an interesting moment or 2.. like when they did that timeline thing explaining the bitch getting run over... but that's all it was-- an interesting bit of storytelling. overall, the movie still blew a dong.
and it didn't help that benjamin was an inauthentic fag. i guess this is a little harder to understand if you don't grasp social interaction, but they tried to mix manhood with faghood.
on one hand, benjamin is supposed to be a naive child growing up. he tries to pull off the straight-faced forest gump routine. but at the same time, his answers, social demeanor and reactions betray his worldly brad pitt persona. basically, he's the hollywood version of a 'dork' which means he only screws up when it DOESN'T count. this is the worst type of inconsistent character fuckup that most people can sense by being exposed to various common social cues but wouldn't be able to explain why. i.e. we know he's supposed to be a dork, but he doesn't quite act like an authentic dork.
this is glaringly apparent in the scene where he brings the flowers to the bitch but gets rejected. if i don't buy the romantic nature of their relationship, the movie implodes because it rests on it.
and this is more of a modern so-called 'romance' where dating other people is emphasized and excused. the only problem is romance only works as an ideal, otherwise it becomes a tragedy. romance has too many opportunities to shipwreck itself. that's why when it works, it's an inherent celebration by virtue of it being a difficult accomplishment.
but when romance is played off as mere happenstance, it loses its credibility along with its impact; if i don't care about them being in love, there's no reason to care about whatever else happens. it all becomes incidental and meaningless.
that's why the last snippet of the movie, although intended to be a poignant journey praising the exploration of the human condition, becomes a useless gesture. who gives a fuck what he explores or where he goes or what he does. all that is quite meaningless apart from love.
sure, when you're younger, exploration is a novel idea. but the older you get, the more you realize that exploration requires a destination. exploration for exploration's sake is not only foolish.. it eventually becomes pathetic. the only solace becomes NOT discovering anything.. because the more locations you travel to and the more people you meet and the more sights you see, the more you realize how nonsensical your exploration has become.
exploration isn't an activity as hollywood misleads many to believe. it's a REACTION-- it's a response to DISSATISFACTION. not a passing fancy to tide you over inbetween checkers and backgammon.
but in benjamin's case, exploration becomes just that-- a casual change of direction. and nothing more. which makes this movie a casual change of pace from seeing transformers. and nothing more.
this movie is one big cock sandwich. and i had to take a 2 hour bite.
fuck benjamin button. i could have directed this piece of garbage and made it much better.
and the faggy back-and-forth timeline tug-o-war between the past and the present, just to see to old cunts crying in a hospital room, was fucking annoying as hell. by hour 2, i was rooting for that bitch to be hit by a meteor. i felt like i was watching forest gump meets the sisterhood of the traveling pants.
