I didn't expect too much from this forgotten 2007 studio/indie. It was largely panned by critics and I hadn't heard anybody I know even mention it prior to my blind buy on Friday.
I enjoyed the movie. I had a good time with the characters. The movie started off poorly, with heavy voice over serving as exposition from one character. The music was too on-the-nose quirky (reminiscent of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at times). The movie is Z-a-n-y with a capital "Z". The film asked the audience to make the concession early on that a resourceful and bright teenager could slyly fool parents, social workers, and other authorities for a long, extended period of time. Just go ahead and grant them that or you'll be bothered for the rest of the movie. But it grew on me just as the two main characters grew on me. Not like an unpleasant (or even pleasant fungus) but rather as people can grow on you after you've misjudged them based on first impressions. I found the movie to be a warm, heartfelt, original pic with a very enjoyable, manic performance from Michael Douglas and a fine piece of acting from Evan Rachel Wood. Plus, there was a character named Pepper. That's the bees' knees right there.
This (along with Lars and the Real Girl) seems to be heading a wave of films using and skewing mental illness to their own ends, but I am not really bothered by it. I learn about these people through these exaggerated maladies. As a member of the mentally ill community, I say, "Go for it, but do so with tenderness as these two films did."
***1/2
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