Broken Flowers
By Melanie S., Coquitlam, FL
Sigh. Bill Murray is at it again. Reprising his role as a lonely middle-aged man caught in a crisis, Bill Murray plays Don Johnston (get it?), a guy who finds himself in a little predicament. His young girlfriend has broken up with him and apparently, he is the father of a child he has never met. Here begins Don’s search for the correct ex-girlfriend who might help him out of his misery.
First of all, I get the impression that Bill Murray really wants that Oscar. After his loss to Sean Penn in 2003, I think he has been searching for another “Lost in Translation” moment. I did not see this moment in “Flowers.” What I saw was a contrived plot attempting to be deep and poetic. The film moves much too slowly for my liking although it does improve as it progresses. But, as if listening to a lecture, I kept drifting off to Dreamland instead of paying attention.
Despite the stereotypical plot and Murray’s redundancy, I found the actor who plays Don’s friend quite refreshing, although their characters are the typical opposites. While Don is lonely and depressed, Winston (played by Jeffrey Wright) is happy and full of life. With an interest in solving Sherlock Holmes-type mysteries, Winston adds great comic relief and helps Don search for his son. Definitely my favorite character, he embodies all the qualities of a happy-go-lucky man always wanting more, yet grateful for what he has.
In the end, the film didn’t capture my heart or my soul. I wanted to enjoy it, I really did! But I just couldn’t deal with seeing Bill Murray act out his “Lost in Translation” character again or the little plot twists that made the movie so typical. Sorry, but my vote for best summer movie still goes to “The Wedding Crashers.”
|
