Report Card---Love Is Strange"

I stated, before I began my Oscar picks, that I still had a couple of Report Cards to attend to.
This is one of them.
It went under everyone's radar.
It wasn't nominated for anything.
Nor did it deserve to be.
Frankly, I'm surprised that anyone involved in it's production would have enough confidence and pride in it to even send out DVD screeners for it.

John Lithgow and Alfred Molina are two homosexuals who are married to each other.
Their marriage has caused legal problems that has cost one of them his job.
This is all established in the first fifteen minutes.
You'd think that the rest of the movie would be devoted to them attempting to fighting the system, to getting the job back.
It isn't.
The rest of the movie is about nothing.
Just mutual consolation.
This is what is known in movies as a "character study".
It can also be referred to as "contemplating one's navel".

On to the scoring:

Is it interesting?

Only in the first fifteen minutes.
C-.

Compelling even?

Never.
F.

Is it controversial?

It has the potential to be, but it isn't.
F.

Is it a story worth telling?

There really wasn't one.
F.

Is it good storytelling?

A "character study" means that there were characters worth studying. They weren't.
F.

Is it well written?

The dialogue was fair.
B.

Is it well cast? Well played?

Lithgow and Molina are wonderful actors. This one really tested their craft.
Within the limitations of the script, they were fine.
B+.

Well shot?

Nothing fancy.
B.

Is it too long? Too short?

The time didn't just fly by.
D.

Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?

Yes, and not a lot.
C.

Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?

I really kind of thought that something was going to happen. I was surprised when nothing did.
D.

Do you think about it after you've seen it?

Very little thinking was involved at all.
F.

Is it funny?

No. A little light relief might have helped.
F.

Would it have been worth the thirteen bucks it would have cost to see it in the movies?

No bucks.
F.

Is it impressive?

No impressiveness.
F.

Overall grade: C-.

It was a shame to see talent like this wasted like that.


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My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
They are all compilations of blog entries that have since been removed from the blog.
So this is the only way you can find them.
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.

And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

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