It is miraculous in the sense that you wouldn’t think a
movie about two guys traveling in a car would be that interesting but it is
utterly fascinating. I’m sure in the celebrity world there are plenty of famous
people who play off that they are very ordinary in life. To which, the general
public don’t buy it for a minute. Not because they buy expensive things or eat
expensive foods or have sex with the hottest women, but that if someone
dissected your life, every minor detail under the microscope would be magnified
to douchebag levels. That would mean, the off-the-cuff trips to hot dog stand
for the common man’s meal is met with a lot of eye rolls. When in reality, we
aren’t all that different from each other. In terms of skill, talent and
intelligence. The difference is expressing it to others. To which the value of
that is the relate-ability to what’s at our core. You gain a lot for telling
people what they want to hear, more so in telling it so bluntly and clearly.
I scanned the dailies to this movie a few years back and
recall being…intrigued by it. It seemed so…normal. And that’s just what it is…a
taste of the Midwest and fame.
David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) is a Rolling Stone journalist
and a marginal writer for books. When the opportunity to escort David Foster
Wallace (Jason Segel), a celebrated novelist comes around to the last of his
tour, he instantly begs to write a story about him. This would mean spending a
few days traveling with the oddball writer (as most writers are oddballs). What
manifest is a dissection of fame and perception of success and fear and
everything else that accompanies success. This is the movie I’ve been wanting to
make for years, just that director James Ponsoldt & writer Donald
Marguilies has cracked. That they are fascinating people who have divergent
lives. Though Wallace is suspicious of Lipsky at first, we know that this
relationship is going to go awry when the reality of a famous person’s life
really sets in.
As a big city journalist dissatisfied with his latest,
accompanying a rock star in the book world, it’s within minutes these two have
to be wondering what the others’ motives will be. To that…AMAZING!
I love this movie on so many levels. Simply because it shows
the simplicity of Midwestern life in the 90’s, but also that it gives insight
into creative people minds. It didn’t have to be Wallace. It could’ve been Axl
Rose. The only thing you know is that the world sees him differently than he
sees himself. He answers the most pretentious of questions: is the success in
the creative world all that matters? Will people like you for who you are? In
his memory banks, all he can derive from this is…a non-answer. The type that
doesn’t leave you frustrated, since anyone who does these things ask themselves
this as well. To the frustration of loved ones or well wishers. In his attempt
to figure it out too, and if you are left with the same emptiness, you aren’t
so lonely watching this film (I suspect, the same as if you’ve read his books).
On paper, how in God’s name did they grab the essence of the man without a plot
to speak of is short of genius itself. I know a lot of people were turned off
by the sense that it was a talky, pretentious poetic trip, but it was
surprisingly down-to-Earth and matter of fact.
What a joy it was to watch this movie. And I sincerely feel
another discovery for future film watchers. It’s enlightening movie and
exquisitely crafted. I recommended highly. Also, the fact that Jason Segel
wasn’t nominated for an Oscar is history’s loss. I haven’t seen a performance
this immersive in a very long time. Wonderful.
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