Hateship Loveship (2014)

Its not that i didn't enjoy the film, of course i did. I really enjoyed the sex scenes with Wigg and Pearce including them having a family together. It's just i think they should've developed Wiggs character more by being a little more open and not always have to keep staring at people. I think that it makes the viewers like myself, feel a bit cringy because you don't expect what shes thinking and when she does talk, it doesn't seem to make sense with what she wants.Anyways we'll shift that aside. This movie does tell you how grief and alcohol can tear families apart. Now i don't think this was mentioned in the film but in my opinion, because of the fathers drug and alcohol addiction, i say he lost the custody of his own biological daughter to her grandad. The grandfather didn't seem to keen on him and I wouldn't blame him, he really did do well on bringing up the daughter. The same time though, she didn't seem to trust her father either. I thought it was cruel when herself and her best friend gave Wigg's letters and email messages so that she can hook up with the dad. I thought Sami Gayle who played the best friend was a bit pointless for this movie because this isn't based in a high school, its merely based on the family home really. She just was really annoying, now Gayle is beautiful but they should've have added her character onto this, it was just rather pointless to be honest with you.I wouldn't call this one of my favorite movies but i think it was good enough i suppose........

Kristen Wiig reveals incredible depth and range in this Oscar-worthy performance about an unfulfilled care-giver aiding a widowed father with a drug problem, a troubled teen coming of age and a grandfather trying to deal with failing health while keeping the family together. Set aside your comedic expectations based on Wiig's earlier work -- this is a drama with a full range of nuanced feeling - humour, wit, longing and fulfilment in the classic style of Canada's Nobel prize-winning author Alice Munro, whose short story was masterfully adapted to this screenplay. There are no lightweights in the cast either: veteran character actors Guy Pearce, Nick Nolte and Jennifer Jason Leigh deliver rock solid performances. This felt like a Sarah Polleyproduction: no overtly grand shots or scenes but every character cast perfectly, every performance and shot building a deep, rich reverb and feeling. A fantastic film.

When it comes to comedians doing dramatic roles, especially after they peak, when it comes to their comedy, it has led to some quality roles. For whether it was Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler or Jim Carrey, arguably some of their dramatic roles are better than 90% of their comedy films. Unfortunately though, women haven't really found themselves transitioning as often from being a comedian to going to dramas. Monique did with Precious and Kim Wayans with Pariah, but I would argue it isn't much a norm. Leading to the question: Does Wiig present herself as the next comedian to show dramatic chops, or maybe she should stick to making people laugh?Characters & StoryJohanna's (Kristen Wiig) latest job ends with the old woman dying and then her venturing off to become the nanny to a young girl named Sabitha (Hailee Steinfeld), who lives with her grandpa Mr. McCauley (Nick Nolte). A man she lives with since her dad Ken (Guy Pearce) is a drug addict and killed Mc. McCauley's daughter. So, to protect his granddaughter from such nonsense, and to punish him as well, he has guardianship over Sabitha.Thing is though, he is old and can't keep up with her so that is where Johanna comes in. But with Johanna being plain, and a bit gullible, naturally it leads Sabitha and friend Edith (Sami Gayle) to pick with her. How? Well, they pretend that Ken has a romantic interest in Johanna and for most of the movie that is the main focus. Johanna falling for Ken and him growing accustomed to her.PraiseSomething I liked about this film was everyone was given their own life outside of Johanna's role in it. Sabitha had friends, a love interest, and her own drama; Mr. McCauley had a love interest; and Ken had his drug buddy Chloe (Jennifer Jason Leigh), his motel, and probation officer to worry about. All of which kept them from seeming like their lives stopped and started only when Johanna was around.CriticismAnd the reason I'm glad they were presented with some sense of their own lives is because Wiig plays Johanna as a woman who speaks in monotone, and almost has a horror villain type of personality. Like, when you meet Johanna you almost wonder if by the end of the film there will be blood everywhere, which of course she would clean up, and then she would leave as quietly as she came. For that is how deadpan Wiig plays her. Add in that Johanna isn't interesting in any sense of the word, and it makes the lead damn near feel like a liability.Though the story, as a whole, isn't really appealing to compensate mind you. For while there are mentions of what happened to Ken's ex- wife, some tidbits about Ken's sort of girlfriend Chloe, and we get little story tidbits about Mr. McCauley and Sabitha, often it feels like the story is rather aimless. Yes, there is a beginning, in which Johanna shows up to Mr. McCauley's house; a middle, when Johanna falls in love with Ken; and an end, in which those two find themselves in a relationship; but, once all is said and done, it is hard to say you were really given a reason to care about anyone for no one seemed to really evolve. Take for example Ken's drug addiction, we don't see him go through withdraw and all that, or really heal his relationship with Sabitha or Mr. McCauley, it is just Johanna stepping in, telling him he should stop due to her getting pregnant, and then we time jump and it seems he is now the type of guy he should have always been. Making it so the one meaty part of the movie, which could have brought some type of interest, gets cut.Overall: Skip ItLike The Prince, something about this movie just feels lazy. Almost as if there was an interesting story which could have been told, but something led to the writers telling you the most basic of stories just so that they could fit the movie into the schedules of all the actors involved. Leading to why I'm saying to skip this film. For while there isn't anything necessarily wrong with it, unless you are picky, it just is boring to the point where it doesn't provide you anything besides good background noise for a nap.

"If you and Edith weren't so good at writing letters..." Johanna Parry (Wiig) is a caregiver who has worked for the same woman since she was 15. During this time she rarely left the house and lived a sheltered life. When she passes she takes a job working for an elderly man and his granddaughter Sabitha. Sabitha isn't excited about having a nanny so her and her friend respond to a letter Johanna wrote to Sabitha's father Ken (Pearce). This starts in motion a "relationship" that unintentionally helps everyone involved. This is another movie that is hard to review. The acting is good and the story is interesting and very well written. The only downside is that its just like watching real life. There is really no excitement or any real intrigue. Not even a will they/wont't they feeling. Kristin Wiig is starting to become like Bill Murray in the way that she either does laugh-out-loud-rolling-in-the-aisles comedy or very deliberately paced not quite comedy/not quite drama films. This is a movie that when it was over my only thought was...huh, so that's done. Overall, not a bad movie but it was like watching real life play out and that's really not why I watch movies. I like to have something in it that makes me think. This didn't. I give it a C.