Gone Direct-to-DVD: December 2008
By Robert Sims, Special to Hollywood.com
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Tuesday, December 16, 2008
8. The Good Life
Cast: Zooey Deschanel, Bill Paxton, Chris Klein, Mark Webber
The Verdict: Life isn’t really that good for the college-bound Webber. His dad’s just died, his grieving mother’s broke, and his ailing movie theater boss (Harry Dean Stanton) can’t function without him. And he hates football, making him a pariah in his Nebraska hometown. Then an unhinged Deschanel arrives and declares herself Webber’s soul mate. Deschanel’s all flailing arms and overstated facial gestures, but at least she brings a jolt of energy to an otherwise drab and unrevealing look at teen angst. A sickly pale Webber’s so monotonous and standoffish that he makes it impossible to empathize with his social misfit. Paxton’s downright creepy as a theater patron, but like Klein, Patrick Fugit and Drea de Matteo, he’s barely given anything to do.
DVD Features: None.
Stars: 2 out of 5 stars
KEEP READING: See No. 7 ...