Personal Effects (2009)

Walter (Ashton Kutcher) quits wrestling and is bitterly dealing with his sister Annie's brutal murder. He and his mother (Kathy Bates) attend a support group. He has a dead-end job dressed as a chicken, and grows frustrated at the trial for his sister's murder. He is taken with single mom Linda (Michelle Pfeiffer) raising her troubled deaf teen son Clay. She's also often at the courthouse attending her murdered husband's trial.The material is dark but the movie seems intent on making a rom-com. It wants to be a feel-good triumph over personal demons quirky indie but the clashing tones don't work. The kid threatens another kid with a gun and all he gets is a talking to. I appreciate Kutcher trying something deeper but the movie has these odd unfunny quirkiness like the chicken suit. The material demands a darker and more disturbing film.

Personal Effects feels longer than it runs. There's a lot of interlude cuts, music, and closeups of Kutcher and Pfieffer - some done well while others lagging. In short the movie meanders. The relationship is not believable really, however, the general story and themes of loss seem to hit it right with anger and sadness during dialog, exchanges, and especially court scenes. Sometimes the dialog between the leads is dull, and the supposed chemistry doesn't seem real, but the supporting cast did a good job, including Kathy Bates and Spencer Hudson. Do not have high opinion of Kutcher's acting ability, but he manages to suffice in this role. The music was hit and miss especially annoying with folksy back-playing here and there. OK drama.

What can you say about a movie that deals with 2 murders, a rape, mental disorders, emotional issues, deafness and the prison with the hero in a chicken outfit saying "What the Cluck?!"?You laugh. But you're never sure whether you're supposed to. Is Kutcher's character funny, stupid, mentally/emotionally challenged, all of the above? You're never really sure. Maybe it's supposed to be more realistic that way but it just comes across as confusing. Lost souls, a woman and her son who lost their husband/father to violent death become enmeshed in the life of a young wrestler who lost his sister to rape & violent death. Yes, it's an excuse for groping make-out scenes between the older woman (Michelle Pfeiffer looking like a trailer tramp) and the young wrestler (Ashton Kutcher). Hard not to draw connections to Kutcher's real life marriage to Demi Moore, much older and former wife of Bruce Willis. It takes courage to boink where Bruce has boinked before and it took courage to make this movie. But it's hard to follow why in both cases. "What the Cluck?" indeed

I've always wanted to see Ashton Kutcher in a drama. Sadly, his first drama is the complete piece of garbage, Personal Effects. Kutcher plays a man who plans to get revenge on the person who recently killed his sister. He meets a woman named Linda (Michelle Pfeiffer). This sets out a creepy relationship between a 24 year old and a 40 or 50-ish something year old. Kutcher and Pfeiffer are both at their worst, portraying stupid and unlikable characters. The movie is slow and boring, making me look at my watch every second. I didn't believe a second of the movie, these two people probably wouldn't be talking to each other, more or less falling in love with each other. Kathy Bates play Walter (Kutcher)'s mom, Gloria, and even a great actress like Bates is terrible in this movie. The film never lets a single actor show how good they are. It drifts into a painful thriller out of nowhere, as Kutcher seeks revenge. I thought this would be out of the movie, but apparently the movie is trying to have as many bad plots as possible for it. By the end, I just wanted to get away from this movie and its characters. It's too bad, too, this could have been a great mix of genres, but instead it is just dull. Do yourself a favor and skip Personal Effects.