Aylmer to Zazzoo and Beyond: The Words

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

The Words - Review

The Words
(2012)
Drama/Romance
(1 hr, 36 min)

Rated: PG-13
for brief strong language and smoking

Directed/Written: Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal [co-wrote "Tron Legacy" together]

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde, Zoe Saldana, Jeremy Irons, Ben Barnes, Nora Arnezeder, John Hannah, J.K. Simmons, Zeljko Ivanek, Michael McKean | See full cast and crew

Grade: B-

A writer at the peak of his literary success discovers the steep price he must pay for stealing another man’s work. Hard life lessons are learned.

You were probably not in the theaters this past weekend, not many were. So chances are you haven't yet seen The Words. It was the worst box office weekend since 2008. The Words and Cold Light of Day's opening weekend receipts both were major disappointments for their respective studios. The fast fading Possession saw its second week receipts drop off by 47% but still managed to hold on to the top spot. Promotion for Words was poor, Cold Light almost nonexistent, they debuted at a miserable 4th and 13th place. ( read more : 'Words,' 'Cold Light' Bomb on Worst Weekend in Years...)

Words is not a bad film but it's not great film either. It's plot follows four different storylines with four different sets of characteres simultaneously, a sort of play within a play within a play within a play. Kind of like the filmmakers had the idea to remake “Inception” set in the world of novels and authors. The film is not, however, quite as clever or as complex as it pretends to be. I has received some very harsh reviews from some critics. Their hatred for plagiarism and seeing themselves as 'writers/authors', the story is a little too close for comfort for them I think and therefor taints their critical perspective.

Despite the merging of four stories, first time directors Klugman and Sternthal keep it pretty clear where we are and in which level of the story. It is best to go into this movie without knowing much about it, otherwise the story will be ruined for you so I'm not going to go into details. I do recommend it though with some reservations. I was impressed (not in a positive way) by performances of Dennis Quaid and Olivia Wilde. They were the least believable of the four couples, taking themselves just a bit too seriously...listen closely to what I say because every word I say is loaded with significance. Not really an exact quote but that's the attitude they exude.

There was one curious line, at least to me, in the story of the 'young man' (Ben Barnes) in post WW II Paris, the soldiers are repairing the bombed sewers and one soldier lamenting their dismal task says, 'I miss Utah.' At least that's what I think I heard. I don't plan to go back and watch it again just to see if that is actually what he said.

It was good to see Bradley Cooper do a role where he isn't rude, lewd, crude and spewing out one profanity after another (as in The Hangover movies, #3 is on its way). The studio, investing little in promotion, placed the success of Words almost entirely on the shoulders of Cooper's name recognition (Jeremy Irons is a classic and was actually way more of a draw for me). Zoe Saldana is not only beautiful but is also believable in her performance. The end of the film is, I think, purposely muddled and vague, leaving the viewer to write his own ending. The titles of the two books from the movie's authors, 'The Words', and 'Window of Tears' are dubious choices for best sellers. As a movie experience, Words is slightly better than most of this summer's movie offerings. There is one very unnecessary F-bomb and one other unnecessary profanity of the blasphemy type, otherwise it is reasonably clean.