Movie Review: Maybe I Do (2023)

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Director: Michael Jacobs

Starring: Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon, Richard Gere, William H. Macy, Emma Roberts, Luke Bracey

Running Time: 95 minutes

Synopsis: Michelle (Emma Roberts) gives her long-term boyfriend Allen (Luke Bracey) 24 hours to commit to marriage. Michelle's parents Howard and Grace (Richard Gere and Diane Keaton) then invite Allen's parents Sam and Monica (William H. Macy and Susan Sarandon) for dinner, exposing the four-month affair between Howard and Monica and the one-night friendship between Grace and Sam. Multiple discussions about commitments ensue.

What Works Well: The stellar cast maintains a base level of interest, with Emma Roberts and William H. Macy most engaged. The script at least dares to break away from most of the standard rom-com genre cliches.

What Does Not Work As Well: Michael Jacobs adapts his own play, but the material as presented is ill-suited to the screen. Confined to theatrical sets, the characters repetitively - and endlessly - explore the viability of long-term relationships, the courage required to leap into marriage, and the risk of familiarity yielding to staleness. The unconvincing dialogue never sounds credible and circles the same drain for 95 minutes. The wild coincidences of the parent couples' illicit liaisons ultimately add nothing of consequence.

Conclusion: Too much ardent talk, not enough genuine substance.



All Ace Black Movie Blog reviews are here.

Movie Review: Sahara (2005)

An action-packed adventure, Sahara combines a wacky search for a lost ship with a rapidly-spreading medical crisis in the African desert. A bouncy attitude augments non-stop thrills, escapes, and investigative heroics.

In the final days of the American Civil War, the Confederate ironclad ship Texas is the last vessel to escape the Union naval blockade. The ship disappears, its fate lost to history.

In the present day, ex-Navy buddies Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey) and Al Giordino (Steve Zahn) work for an underwater exploration company independently funded by the wealthy and retired Admiral James Sandecker (Willam H. Macy). In Nigeria, a shady dealer provides Dirk with a gold coin believed to be from Texas and originating in Mali, where a civil war rages between warlord Kazim (Lennie James) and the Tuareg.

Concurrently, World Health Organization doctor Eva Rojas (Penelope Cruz) is investigating a deadly disease spreading in the area, and she hitches a ride into Mali with Dirk and Al. Businessman Yves Massarde (Lambert Wilson), a Kazim ally, is not pleased to see Dr. Rojas and the ship hunters poking into his affairs and sets out to stop them by all means necessary.

An adaptation of the Clive Cussler book, Sahara carries a glossy Indiana Jones vibe and a strong sense of fun. Although the troubled and over-budget production resulted in four credited writers and multiple law suits, the film is a rollicking and enjoyable thrill ride. Director Breck Eisner makes good use of gorgeous scenery and adopts a galloping pace to keep up with the wild material, leveraging the joint charisma of stars Matthew McConaughey and Steve Zahn to deliver multiple highlights.

And it is the lead duo that differentiates Sahara. Beyond bantering buddies, thorny friends, and leader-sidekick dynamics, Dirk and Al are a (mostly) well-oiled partnership adept at on-the-fly problem solving and improvisation. Zahn adds scrappy charm, wit, and inventiveness, perfectly complementing McConaughey's bold self-assurance as they work their way out of seemingly impossible jams.

The plots threads together two stories, an urgent investigation of a spreading disease merging with a more playful - if not self-consciously bizarre - search for a lost Confederate war ship that somehow ended up in the African desert. Penelope Cruz as Dr. Rojas carries the weight of the medical quest, but is only modestly successful at transforming the duo into a trio while providing the requisite romantic interest.

The action highlights are all ridiculous, ridiculously fun, and spiked with sometimes wicked humour. On the Niger river, Dirk and Al tangle with several of Kazim's power boats plus one technical machine gun. Stunt performers have fun with a camel-enabled train take-over. A desert escape features the cargo bed of a pick-up truck then a plane wreck turned into a land yacht. An impressively massive solar-powered facility is discovered in the desert, setting up a raucous finale, which is then upstaged by the real climax in the desert, where old and new technology meet on the battlefield.

Devoid of any demands for intellectual or emotional commitment, Sahara bounces on the dunes of exhilaration.



All Ace Black Movie Blog reviews are here.

Movie Review: The Cooler (2003)

A slick drama and romance, The Cooler explores luck and happiness through the fortunes of interdependent characters in a pathetically glitzy environment.

In Las Vegas, Bernie Lootz (William H. Macy) is employed as a "cooler" at the Shangri La casino operated by his lifelong friend Shelly (Alec Baldwin). A recovered gambling addict, Bernie only ever experiences bad luck and spreads it to anyone near him. He is deployed near hot streak gamblers to turn the tide back in the casino's favour.

Having worked for years to pay a debt he owed Shelly, Bernie is now ready to quit and leave town. Meanwhile owner representative Larry Sokolov (Ron Livingston) considers Shelly's old-fashioned management style incompatible with the new family-friendly Vegas. Bernie embarks on an unlikely passionate relationship with cocktail waitress Natalie (Maria Bello). But his personal happiness impacts his luck and he becomes useless as a cooler, multiplying Shelly's problems.

Filled with fluid camera work, a nighttime aesthetic and playful symbolism, and drenched in garrish Vegas neon and sickly casino lights, The Cooler explores the ecosystem under the rocks where desperate characters live. And in the script co-written by director Wayne Kramer and Frank Hannah, all the characters are desperately on edge, staring at forthcoming foundational changes and unsure they like what they see.

Bernie functions as a doormat for Shelly and is drowning so deep in a life of misfortune he is actually grateful Shelly busted his knee with a baseball bat to cure his gambling addiction. Natalie is living with her own ghosts of regret and shattered dreams. And Shelly is watching the city pass him by and evolving into a family playground, his hardcore boiler room intimidation tactics and crooner entertainment shows no longer appealing to owners and audiences.

A sharp shaft of light breaks into this grime in the form of an unlikely love between Bernie and Natalie, and suddenly the long-established status quo is disrupted. Neither Bernie nor Natalie could imagine finding a meaningful relationship and don't quite know what to do with it; Bernie's happiness translates to good luck and his value as a cooler plummets; the losses mount for Shelly just as he is trying to fend off Larry's modernization. The Cooler embraces the unhinging of three lives and tracks the ensuing out-of-control trajectories to fitting conclusions.

Other sub-plots enrich the film, although the relatively short 101 minutes of running time limit their depth. Bernie's good-for-nothing son Mikey (Shawn Hatosy) and a pregnant girlfriend Charlotte (Estella Warren) show up looking for handouts and layering additional guilt onto Bernie. Shelly, in his own unique way, is loyal to drug addicted entertainer (Paul Sorvino) long past his sell-by date.

Although the 17 year age difference is grating, William H. Macy and Maria Bello glow at the heart of the film, both creating characters living on dying embers of hope. Alec Baldwin enjoys himself as Shelly, hiding his uncompromising tendencies and dead soul behind expensive suits.

Stylish, engaging, and unpredictable, The Cooler rolls a natural.

All Ace Black Blog Movie Reviews are here.

Movie Review: A Single Shot (2013)

A suspense drama, A Single Shot explores themes of guilt and despair as one flawed man's life is forever changed by a moment of carelessness.

John Moon (Sam Rockwell) lives alone in a mobile home, deep in the woods. While poaching a deer he inadvertently shoots and kills a young woman. He hides her body then stumbles upon an abandoned ramshackle encampment where he finds and keeps a box full of seemingly stolen cash.

Hoping to patch up his marriage to Jess (Kelly Reilly), John follows the advice of his frequently drunk friend Simon (Jeffrey Wright) and reaches out to lawyer Pitt (William H. Macy), who is eager to ask questions more awkward than his wardrobe. Jess is not interested in a reconciliation and appears to be hanging out with the wrong types. John's loneliness and sense of guilt are further stressed when he finds himself under threat from creepy criminals Obadiah (Joe Anderson) and Waylon (Jason Isaacs), who want their cash back.

A backcountry drama, A Single Shot luxuriates in barely comprehensible accents and a hostile environment where tough terrain, uncompromising townfolk and seedy ex-cons co-mingle uneasily. The raw material threatens a potentially cold and calculating human-centred thriller, but director David M. Rosenthal is unable to harness the available elements into a satisfying whole.

The culprit is a weak script written by Matthew F. Jones as an adaptation of his own book. While John Moon is a compelling enough central character and Sam Rockwell brings him to life in an appropriately moody performance, most of the film's events are suspect. Moon is subjected to a campaign of intimidation that makes no sense upon just rudimentary examination, and the bad guys in the form of Obadiah and Waylon look the part but are otherwise devoid of context.

The third act defaults to plenty of violence and blood-letting, although Rosenthal does find a poignant resolution which almost salvages the entire film. After John stumbles into an opportunity to make symmetrical amends with an act of agonizing heroism, the burden of guilt nevertheless conspires to have the final say.

All Ace Black Blog Movie Reviews are here.

Movie Review: Rudderless (2014)

A drama set in the world of grief and music, Rudderless tackles the seemingly insurmountable difficulties of carrying on with life after a crushing family tragedy.

College student Josh (Miles Heizer) is killed in an on-campus school shooting, sending his father Sam (Billy Crudup), a marketing executive, into a depression. Two years later, Sam has quit his job, moved two hours out of town, is living on a boat and working as a lowly painter. His ex-wife Emily (Felicity Huffman) drops off some of Josh's old items, and Sam stumbles onto song recordings and lyrics that Josh was working on.

He performs one of Josh's songs during open mic night at The Trill tavern, attracting the attention of Quentin (Anton Yelchin), a young man who insists that they team up and perform together. Sam is reluctant but eventually yields, and gradually the band Rudderless is formed, gaining local prominence with the help of music shop owner Del (Laurence Fishburne). Sam helps Quentin mature as a man, but with the reappearance of Josh's old girlfriend Kate Ann (Selena Gomez), the events of the past are about to again rock Sam's life.

The directorial debut of William H. Macy (who also has a small role as the tavern's owner), Rudderless combines music and mourning as it ventures into rarely explored territory. The world of hurt in the shadow of a mass shooting makes for difficult story telling material, but Macy along with screenwriters Jeff Robison and Casey Twenter construct a highly watchable and heartfelt drama.

The songs are of the soulful soft rock white-man-with-a-guitar variety, not nearly as unique as the film makes them out, and the musical performance segments are more numerous and longer than they need to be. Macy finds better traction when the focus is on Sam, and then in the dynamic between Sam and Quentin. Josh's ghost is never far away from Sam's new stripped-down life, much as he wants to avoid it, and his interactions with Quentin and the other young men of the band are built on a rickety foundation of deep hurt.

Without ever showing what happened at the school shooting, the film drops steady hints that no matter how many houses he paints, beers he drinks or songs he sings, Sam will not be able to avoid confronting the past. His own actions inadvertently but finally open the door for recent history to storm in, and it is as painful as Sam knew it would be. The final act hits some, but not all, the high notes it aims at, as this chapter of the grief journey maybe ends too tidily.

Rudderless rides on a majestic Billy Crudup performance as he revisits the musical world that made him Almost Famous. Here his performance is built on active emotional hide and seek, and Crudup perfectly captures a grieving father bottling up a yearning to scream at himself and the world. Anton Yelchin is all about the intensity of youth making something happen out of the haziest opportunity. One of the film's strengths is in only hinting at Quentin's troubled past and present, Sam's help remaining at the superficial level, the damaged ex-father not equipped to re-assume fatherly duties.

Rudderless is about new beginnings setting sail, but only after catching the winds of the past.

All Ace Black Blog Movie Reviews are here.

Movie Review: Room (2015)

An intimate drama about survival, Room is a child's view of an abduction ordeal. The film is original, but offers frustratingly little beyond its basic premise.

Joy Newsome (Brie Larson) is raising her son Jack (Jacob Tremblay) in a single room. As a teenager, Joy was abducted by a psychopath known only as Big Nick, and held captive as a sex slave in a back yard garden shed. A skylight is her only window to the outside world. Jack was born in captivity, and all he knows is the inside of the room, plus whatever Joy explains to him and what he sees on the rudimentary television. Every night Big Nick visits the room to have sex with Joy, with Jack confined to the closet. Once Jack turns five, Joy's thoughts turn to plotting an escape, and she will need Jack's help to succeed.

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson, Room is a small story built on one big idea. The film spends its first half literally in one small room serving as an entire habitat, and the second half exploring emotional damage, all from the perspective of five year old Jack. The film mixes intensity with a sense of wonderment, Joy portrayed as a hero and a victim, and the rest of the world a large, mysterious place filled with strangers, both intimidating and welcoming to a young curious mind.

The charm of Room is also its limitation. The world as seen by a five year old is a fascinating, sometimes scary place, but it is also a truncated, splintered perspective, lacking in depth and continuity. And while Room succeeds in capturing the astonishment and anxiety that comes from a child discovering what the world has to offer, by definition the film stops short of delving into any one issue beyond what young Jack can comprehend.

The second part of the film particularly suffers. Jack is an observer as the world outside the room opens up to him, and he witnesses adults grappling with the aftermath of the abduction ordeal. Joy has to find her bearings in the real world, deal with her parents (Joan Allen and William H. Macy), the media hounds, and self-serving lawyers, while redefining her purpose in life and struggling with feelings of guilt.

There is rich territory to explore, but Room can only offer partial scenes and fragments of discord, because this is all that Jack can discern. There are tender moments as Jack emerges out of his scarred shell and creates new connections with other grown-ups, but the film defaults to a menu of themes that would make for an engrossing experience, but without the follow-through to more fully deliver any of the items.

Brie Larson as Joy and young Jacob Tremblay as Jack are both quite touching as victims and survivors. The script by Emma Donaghue (who also wrote the book) never asks for cheap pity, and Larson emphasizes the smart toughness Joy had to call upon to raise her son in confinement and come through her ordeal. Tremblay avoids all the hazards of cuteness, and also steers Jack towards coherent stubbornness and a less-than-perfect disposition forged by a most unusual upbringing.

Room is innovative and appealing, both faithful to and constrained by its unique vision.

All Ace Black Blog Movie Reviews are here.

Movie Review: Thank You For Smoking (2005)

A workplace dramatic comedy, Thank You For Smoking examines the distasteful careers of those who lobby for industries that knowingly kill people. With biting satire, the story of a cigarette industry spokesperson cleverly humanizes the monsters behind the seemingly heartless statements.

Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) is the charismatic public face for the Academy of Tobacco Studies, an industry-funded advocacy group pumping out dubious science and responding to attacks on big tobacco. Nick is really good at his job, and becomes a well-known and publicly reviled figure, to the point of receiving death threats. His regular lunch companions include Polly (Maria Bello) and Bobby Jay (David Koechner), who hold similar jobs for the alcohol and firearms industries respectively.

Nick's nemeses includes Senator Ortolan Finistirre (William H. Macy), who is leading the charge for more graphic warnings on cigarette packages. With sales figures falling, Nick impresses his boss "BR" (J.K. Simmons) and tobacco tycoon "the Captain" (Robert Duvall) by suggesting that the industry pay for high profile movie stars to start smoking again in big-budget productions. This leads to a surreal meeting with Hollywood uber talent representative Jeff Megall (Rob Lowe).

Nick is divorced, but is nevertheless trying to be good dad to his inquisitive son Joey (Cameron Bright), who joins Nick on some of his business travels. On one trip they visit the actor Lorne Lutch (Sam Elliott), better known as the iconic Marlboro Man, but who is now dying of cancer. Meanwhile investigative journalist Heather Holloway (Katie Holmes) wants to profile Nick, and they start a scorching sexual relationship over a series of interviews. Just when everything appears to be going swimmingly well for Nick, his career is suddenly disrupted on all fronts.

The first major feature written and directed by Jason Reitman, Thank You For Smoking takes a clever look at the distasteful edges of a free civil society. Through the character of Nick, the film explores the themes of freedom of choice, fatherhood in the face of notoriety, and a capitalistic, hypocritical society where politicians and industrialists wage battle. Everything and everyone has a price, cheese can be compared to cigarettes, the dream machine of Hollywood is a giant advertising space, and science is the first casualty amidst the sleaze, spin, and scandal.

Produced on a modest budget, Thank You For Smoking is sly, witty, and compact at 92 minutes. Reitman packs the film with quick vignettes from Nick's life, the film unfolding with a mischievous attitude to match Nick's unapologetic stance. Nick's task is not about proving that cigarettes don't kill; rather, it's about obfuscating his way through the next argument so that the relevant facts are buried in an avalanche of spin.

The film succeeds in turning Nick into not quite a hero, but rather a necessary presence, a product of a system that refuses to curtail freedom and allows every accused the right to buy the best defence. That a smart, handsome and charismatic man is attracted to the job is then simply a matter of matching talent to the professional requirement, no different than a slick lawyer standing up for a seemingly blatantly guilty defendant in court.

Reitman also offers up Nick as a victim. As the face of a reviled industry, Nick not only has to deal with maniacs out to harm him, but his son also suffers the misfortune of having a nationally despised father. Nick is not deterred, and insists on exposing young Joey to the world of lobbying and advocacy. Joey gets to see the behind the scenes world where a dying man gets to choose between a briefcase full of money and freedom of speech, and where movie agents control how many smoke rings will be puffed on screen, and for what price.

Aaron Eckhart picks up the film and runs with it, enjoying one of the most prominent roles of his screen career and maximizing the impish side of his persona to create a man who is likeable in spite of himself. All the supporting cast members get into the swing of events and deliver rollicking support, with Elliott, Simmons, Duvall, Holmes and Macy enjoying their moments despite relatively limited screen time.

Every operator, no matter how slick, has a weakness, and Nick is about to discover his vulnerability in the most publicly humiliating way. He magnetism breeds overconfidence, and he will face his greatest crisis just when his industry needs him the most. However, in a society built on selling without conscience, there will always be welcome space for the modern fast talking, quick thinking confidence man.

All Ace Black Blog Movie Reviews are here.

The Movies Of William H. Macy

All movies starring William H. Macy and reviewed on the Ace Black Movie Blog are linked below:

Radio Days (1987, voice only)

House Of Games (1987)

Searching For Bobby Fisher (1993)

The Client (1994)

Fargo (1996)

Air Force One (1997)

Boogie Nights (1997)

Wag The Dog (1997)

A Civil Action (1998)

Magnolia (1999)

The Cooler (2003)

Sahara (2005)

Thank You For Smoking (2005)

The Maiden Heist (2009)

The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)

The Sessions (2012)

A Single Shot (2013)

Rudderless (2014, also Director)

Cake (2014)

Room (2015)

Maybe I Do (2023)

Train Dreams (2025)

All Ace Black Movie Blog reviews are here.
The Movie Star Index is here.

Movie Review: Boogie Nights (1997)

A journey through the heyday of the pornographic film industry, Boogie Nights pays homage and shares a laugh at the expense of an industry transitioning from scummy cinemas to the video players of mainstream America. It is also one of the best films of the 1990s.

It is the late 1970s, and seventeen year old Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) is a working as a busboy in a San Fernando Valley nightclub. Eager to escape from a dysfunctional home and extremely well endowed where it matters, Adams accepts an invitation from porn film director Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) to join the industry. Adopting the screen name of Dirk Diggler, Adams quickly becomes the biggest star in porn films. As the seventies turn into the eighties, the industry is transformed by video, while drug addiction and a falling out with Horner trigger a rapid reversal in Diggler's fortunes.

Paul Thomas Anderson's second feature film elevated him to the front ranks of directors. Working from his own script, Anderson creates in Boogie Nights a character-rich environment, with memorable personalities grappling with the changing times within a burgeoning industry. The rise and fall of Dirk Diggler is just the surface story. Anderson builds a rich, multi-layered universe, with plenty of depth to all the assorted weirdos and misfits that congregate around porn manufacturing.

The veteran performer (Julianne Moore as Amber Wave), the nubile next young thing (Heather Graham as Rollergirl), the grizzled director (Reynolds as Horner) still yearning to make art, the loyal co-star (John C. Reilly as Reed Rothchild), the producer (Robert Ridgley as Colonel James) with more money than sense and a weakness for underage girls, the eager gofer (Philip Seymour Hoffman as Scotty J) too dim to do anything else in life except lust after Diggler, the assistant director (William H. Macy as Little Bill Thompson) married to an aging performer who does not hesitate to have sex with any other man, the porn star (Don Cheadle as Buck Swope) who wants to do something better and different in life, and the financier (Philip Baker Hall as Floyd Gondolli) sharp enough to spot the emergence of video and its huge implications to the industry.

Incredibly, these are only some of the people and stories that Anderson makes time for in Boogie Nights. They all come to life naturally, hustling to make a buck, facing their demons or succumbing to them, adapting or dying, in a business that is unforgiving, awash in drugs, enormously popular and yet almost entirely hidden.

The performances from the stellar cast are uniformly captivating, none more so than Wahlberg. Announcing his arrival as a movie star after an initial career as a rapper, Wahlberg portrays Adams with sensitivity, bravado mixed with fragility, Adams' wide-eyed amazement at the surrounding circus balanced by his natural affinity for the role of male porn star. Julianne Moore also delivers a memorable performance, Amber standing at the cusp of has-been status, transitioning to the role of mentor for Adams and mother figure for Rollergirl, while fighting for custody of her son. Burt Reynolds rejuvenated his career with his turn as Jack Horner, a man too old for the profession and refusing to give up on the dream of creating art, but savvy enough to spot raw talent and move with the times when needed.

The sex scenes are dealt with in the matter-of-fact manner that only the porn industry can conjure, and yet Anderson finds the soft seam where real people meet their on-screen personas: Amber guiding Adams through his first ever scene is a triumph of sex-as-work having to overcome vulnerability with sheer courage and compassion.

Despite a running time of 155 minutes, Boogie Nights is breezy, entertaining and often funny. Although the decline and fall of Diggler is less enjoyable than his spectacular rise, Anderson keeps the narrative brisk and the multiple stories progressing, while a deep soundtrack of era favourites provides a vibrant musical backdrop. Boogie Nights dances up an impressive sweat.

All Ace Black Blog Movie Reviews are here.

Movie Review: Magnolia (1999)

A sprawling epic of interrelated human melodramas, Magnolia maintains interest for most of its astounding 188 minutes of running time, thanks to an engaging cast and mounting certainty that something most unusual will happen to everyone involved.

Television magnate Earl Partridge (Jason Robards) is bed-ridden and close to death. Looking after him is well-meaning nurse Phil Parma (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Earl's much younger wife Linda (Julianne Moore) is racked with guilt: she only married him for the money, but now that Earl is dying, she does not  want to inherit his fortune. Parma discovers that Earl's long-lost son is none other than Frank T. J. Mackey (Tom Cruise), an obnoxious relationship self-help guru and author of Seduce And Destroy, a book guiding men to dominate women for the sole purpose of sex.

One of the longest running television programs produced by Earl is the quiz show What Do Kids Know?, hosted by the veteran Jimmy Gator (Philip Baker Hall). Gator has just learned that he has terminal cancer, and devastated by the guilt of all the sins in his life, is struggling to host the latest episode of the show. One of the contestants is boy genius Stanley (Jeremy Blackman), being mercilessly pushed by his father, who sees in Stanley an opportunity to get rich. Donnie Smith (William H. Macy) was a star of What Do Kids Know? a generation earlier. His winnings from the show were squandered by his parents, and Donnie is now a broken man, having lost most of his intelligence when he was struck by lightning.

Claudia (Melora Walters) is Jimmy Gator's daughter. Estranged from her father and addicted to drugs and very loud music, Claudia meets police officer Jim Kurring (John C. Reilly), who is lonely and deeply religious but otherwise polite and considerate. They have a most awkward first date, disrupted by Claudia's insecurities.

After the success of Boogie Nights (1997), director Paul Thomas Anderson was given free rein. He wrote and directed Magnolia, and what he lacked in discipline he more than made up for in ambition. Magnolia runs on the unconstrained adrenaline of its overcharged characters. There are few subtle displays of emotion: all the knobs are turned to maximum expression, and the actors bite greedily into the meaty license to just let loose.

Cruise is quite memorable as T. J. Mackey, an intolerable self-help snake oil artist on hyperdrive, preaching to men about the need to reclaim their masculinity and dominate women in the most brazen terms. Of course Mackey is using all the bombast to get back at his father, but this does not make him any less fascinating to watch. Moore, Robards (in his final role), Walters, Hall and Macy do their own share of furniture chewing, and most scenes in Magnolia feature someone erupting, hissing, shouting, crying or collapsing.

Several themes tie all the stories of Magnolia together, the most prominent being abandonment, abuse, disappointment and betrayal. The nurse Parma and the police officer Kurring are the least damaged and most positive forces for good in the movie. All the other characters are struggling, often with limited success, against evil intentions, bleak childhoods, substances controlling their actions, and grand disillusionment with the way life turned out.

The ending is more weird than successful. The film threatens to elegantly come together, but instead takes a trip to an outlandish final 20 minutes that, while mystifying, throws away a lot of the good work that was constructed so carefully. While Magnolia falls short of delivering the sweetest smell, it remains an impressive bouquet.

All Ace Black Blog Movie Reviews are here.