Benjamin Button: Super or Snoozer?

Rucker's Take: I went into this screening with a good amount of curiosity, and rightfully so, curiosity is built into the title, but I also didn't want to like this movie that much either. The trailer was terribly creepy, what with an old Cate Blanchett leaning down to kiss a toddler that she was in love with, and I'm not the biggest Brad Pitt fan. But I couldn't help but walk away thinking that this was a wonderful movie.

The film is a chronological retelling of Button's life by his daughter (who doesn't know she's his daughter, but come on it's not that hard) by way of his diary. Caroline (the daughter) is reading the diary to her mother, Daisy, played by a ridiculously old-looking Cate Blanchett.

The portion of the movie with Caroline and Daisy is set in nearly-present time in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina was just about to strike New Orleans, where the film is set. I didn't really understand the importance of placing the film at this time as the hurricane really had nothing to do with the story. I guess the filmmakers were just wanting to make some sort of statement since they were one of the first films to begin production in New Orleans following the storm. And that's fine and all, it just had nothing to do with the story, and the story was already nearly 3 hours long, and time is money folks.

There were a couple of parallels between BB and some other very popular stories. The old lady remembering everything from her life kinda reminded me of Titanic, except she didn't throw the Heart of the Ocean into the ocean at the end. Ohhhh- I just got the symbolism there! The beginning of the story was also kinda Wicked-ish-- a giant clock playing a significant role in the birth of a terribly deformed baby... But whatever, I'm probably the only one who noticed that.

Queenie, Benjamin's adopted mother, is my life. I loved her and I want to meet her. You will love her too, and that's all I have to say about that.

The movie was filled with great quotes, which now fill up the "favorite quotes" portion of my Facebook page:

"We're meant to lose the people we love.. How else would we know how important they are to us?"

"You never know what’s coming for you."

"We are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss."

My favorite part of the movie was a sequence in which Button recounts a series of events that lead to his precious Daisy being hit by a car. I always think about stuff like that, the whole Sliding Doors thing. Way interesting.

The visual effects and makeup in this movie were ridiculous. As the girl walking out of the theater in front of me said, "They are like, totally gonna win some award for best makeup or something."

I heard they used some sort of psycho technology to put Brad Pitt's old-looking face on different bodies to create Button when he was young/old. They did a fantastic job of aging and de-aging him. Also Cate Blanchett looked flawless throughout the movie. Well, except when she was lying in bed dying. Then she looked pretty bad.

The worst part of the movie, that I couldn't stand, were the voices. And I suppose if they were authentic accents to New Orleans there's nothing I can do about that, other than not be friends with people from New Orleans. But I didn't like Button's voice at all, which was unfortunate because he is the main character and narrates the whole film. And I also didn't like Daisy's voice when she's in the hospital because it's all accenty AND scratchy.

All in all though, this was a fantastic film.

Just go prepared to sit for almost three hours. That means NO drinks!

Enjoy!

Rucker's Rating: Soo Good

Urban's Take: I love love love this movie. I saw it yesterday and it's still weighing on my mind, as quality movies are prone to do. Rucker gave you the long and short of the plot, so I'll just provide you with my own opinions.

What I liked: Pretty much everything. I loved Taraji P. Henson, who plays Benjamin's adoptive mother, Queenie. I thought Brad Pitt did an excellent job throughout the movie and wouldn't be surprised to see his name on the Oscar nominations list, released January 22.

I adored all of the funny little things like the drunken sea captain or the elderly man who recounts having been struck by lightning seven times. In fact, the concept and execution of Benjamin growing up and growing old in a retirement home full of colorful characters never failed to make me smile. The supporting characters in this movie are what pushed it over the edge for me and set it apart from most dramatic fare this season.

Director David Fincher crafted a wonderful film - and though it's long, I can't think of much I would want to cut out. Mostly, I'm amazed that they took such a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald and fleshed it out to be a beautiful opus about life, death, and the delicate dance between the two extremes.

What I didn't like: Cate Blanchett. I'll be honest and say that I'm not a huge fan of hers unless she's playing Queen Elizabeth. But especially in "Benjamin Button," she seemed to stick out. Her scratchy "New Orleans" accent she used when she's lying in a hospital bed is near impossible to understand. When I get the DVD, I'll have to use captions for every scene in that modern-day setting. And I didn't think that Cate and Brad really had any chemistry together whatsoever. Or rather, I always felt Benjamin's love for Daisy, but Cate always played Daisy as very cold, even during the parts where the two were supposed to be blissfully happy and in love. I enjoyed Brad's screen time with Tilda Swinton, who plays an English ambassador's wife, much more than his time with Daisy.

Overall, this was a magically wonderful movie about the importance of every day and what you make of your life. I think that's why the modern-day portions of the movie took place during Hurricane Katrina - like Queenie says, you never know what's coming for you. The same could be said of that horrible storm and it's aftermath. "Benjamin Button" is likely to clean up at the Oscars and it will become one of my personal favorites, despite Blanchett. Many have made comparisons between this film and "Forrest Gump," and I can see how they would get there - but I thought "Benjamin" was a much more powerful film than "Gump," with more stunning visuals, interesting characters, and a more stirring plot than the 1995 Best Picture. (Although it's interesting to note that Eric Roth had a hand in writing both films.)

Urban's Rating: Sooo good

Rucker's Response: OK THANK YOU for also hating Blanchett's accent! I couldn't understand ANYTHING she said in the hospital either. I also agree that she never really seemed to connect with Button in their scenes together. I liked Swinton's part too, even though I had to keep reminding myself not to yell at the screen "It's the White Witch! Don't hook up with her!"

OK hear me out on this and see if you agree: did you, like me, look at this film almost like it wasn't just a movie, but like an entire miniseries condensed into one movie? Meaning, it had so many aspects to it, with the different characters and settings and times that we almost got 3 movies in one. Does that make sense at all?

Urban's Response: Honestly, Blanchett's accent was a huge drawback to the movie. Someone near me in the theater said, "If this chick doesn't start speaking English soon, I'm out." And I will always think of Tilda as the White Witch - but I only think I would have warned Benjamin if she had offered him Turkish Delight instead of caviar and vodka.

I DO agree about the miniseries thing! There were even parts where I was like, "that would make a good commercial break stopping point." (I'll try not to give anything away here...) The most noticable one is after Benjamin's experience with WWII, before he returns home for the first time. The next logical part would probably be when he returns home the second time with Daisy. So yeah, that definitely makes sense!

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