Goodbye World (2013)

Where would I go if the world were ending? Up to Mendocino- and I'd try to wrestle my way in with this funky heard of survivors while it was all going down. Here we find the alchemist-director Hennelly brewing personal dramas with external forces of destruction along with enough wine and weed to feed all the souls tumult- and so the story of Goodbye, World unfolds beneath the redwoods, between the rolling hills of Northern California. I liked the pace of the film, a welcomed respite from the normal fast-paced, head-pounding jolt of traditional cinema today. Thank you for reminding us we don't have to sit on the edge of our proverbial seats like hamsters stuck in advertised placement wheel hell. Let a movie be a f-ing movie. Days are slow in the mountains; life takes time to grow from the ground up. Afternoon board games and laughter with friends in a hot tub is bliss. Personal histories unravel in a string of moments and these elements were captured in a true fashion. Character dev/ and tight dialogue in some cases would have enhanced certain scenes and while the umbrella of impending doom had eclectic, bright characters animating the space below to capture us, overall I think the film was misunderstood. Either way, I loved the film and it reminds me of a special place and time.

The idea of a simple text messaging going around the world and overloading the network is great. It looked like it had real promise and would give the film makers a chance to explore a very different apocalypse setting.Unfortunately that is not the case and 90% of this film is just people smoking weed in the woods whilst babbling about entirely unrelated issues and drinking a seemingly inexhaustible supply of beer. The entire technological apocalypse idea takes a back seat so incredibly quickly that it might as well have not even been in the film.Yes suddenly losing communications, power and so on overnight probably would lead to people fighting in the streets. It likely would cause a rather dramatic collapse of society which the world may or may not recover from. None of these ideas are adequately looked at in any detail however and it really is just dull characters getting wasted in the woods. Ultimately it leaves you wondering what the hell the point in even making this film was.Waste of an hour and a half.

Great concept. Poor characters. I am really hoping for the sake of America that people do not really act like this. I know there are some people who sit around and smoke weed all day and act like 16 year olds even though they are in there 20's early 30's but come on. I find it hard to believe that these people would act this way in an event like this. There are okay parts but overall I kept waiting for something to happen. I mean the world is ending and these people are acting like its a high school reunion. And what was with the girl pissing right in front of everyone? She could have easily used the bathroom 10 feet away. Like I said before if people really act like this way I can only imagine what would happen if some major thing happened in this world. I guess we should all just sit there and smoke week when the world goes down huh?

I watched this movie all the way through, only because the dialog was intelligent enough to keep me interested. It seems the writers were smart enough to include a lot of topical, class-conscious "Big Chill" type conversation between college-educated friends, and much of it was at least a little thought-provoking. And because this was mostly a drama, dialog ran throughout, and therefore, the movie seemed intelligent.But a good movie needs more than this. It needs credibility and likable characters. This movie lacked these.First of all, if it was indeed the "apocalypse" (the term most in the group admitted to), then why on earth are they acting as if nothing is happening, but a college reunion? Instead of panicking or at least stockpiling weapons and food and worrying about their neighbors, they just lock the cattle gate, then proceed to smoke pot, drink wine and whiskey, get nude in the hot tub, tell jokes and have a mini-talent show, and spend LOTS of one-on-one time talking about relationships and past issues. That's not credible during a national emergency. Worse, it is later discovered that 2 of the members in the group (including a young mother who is apparently a math genius) are entirely responsible for the national crisis! What do they do? Light up another fatty, and go hot-tubbing! We don't even get to know how the hosts are able to live and make their money, supporting a child. And what good is being a math genius in a country that is being overthrown? After two of the characters go into town for "supplies", they enter a heavily-armed shop where tomatoes are $40 each, and tampon boxes are $100 each. Never mind; they just throw everything in the bag, and narrowly escape with their lives, but neglect to mention the disturbing event to their peers when they get back. There's hardly anything credible happening in this movie.Secondly, none of the characters are heroic or likable in the least! They are all way too clever, witty, and ready to sleep with anyone who gets them alone. They trade insults and barbs, and really just reveal how selfish they are. They act oblivious to the fact that society is crumbling around them, which 2 of the group are responsible for, and love and friendship are interchangeable with at least 4 members of the group, bespeaking of the low moral character of the writers, who assume we should care for such irresponsible and selfish people, just because they are wealthy, white and educated. There is one character, a woman played by Gaby Hoffman, who does something heroic in the end, but it's too late. Her conformity to the party-atmosphere of the group, pot-smoking and general lack of responsible behavior, combined with the fact that 2 of the members of her group have thrown the entire country into chaos, completely contradict her patriotic pride, and straight-arrow claims. This impossible character is at least interesting to look at, due to Hoffman's striking face, but that's all. If the movie made the characters more likable, and there was a lot less partying and more stocking up on supplies and weapons, then it would be much better. 5 stars.