Me and You and Everyone We Know

One of the most critically acclaimed films of 2005, Me and You and Everyone We Know is also one of the most original feature debuts you're ever likely to see. Winner of the Camera d'or Award for best first film at the Cannes Film Festival, it's an altogether charming display of talent for writer, director, and costar Miranda July, a performance artist making a promising transition to film. Her loose-knit tale of love and longing encompasses a large cast of quirky and memorable characters, foremost among them being Christine (July), a forlorn dreamer who falls in love with Richard (John Hawkes, from HBO's Deadwood), who's going through a traumatic divorce. Richard is desperate to be a good father to his seven- and 14-year-old sons, both of whom have experiences that push Me and You to an almost perverse level of audacity, but July handles their potentially troubling scenes with such delicacy and tact that they seem almost miraculously innocent. The whole film is like that: It never, ever goes where you think it's going to go, and every scene tingles with humor, affection and curiosity for its characters. As it turns routine days into joyous opportunities for discovery, July's remarkable film is not for all tastes, but if you're looking for something new, different, and defiantly out of the mainstream, this gentle comedy's for you. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

Quirky means... yicky, yucky, quacky

It's time to get quirky-- that means getting sentimental; that means getting melodramatic; that means being frustrating, and self-absorbed, and self-important. That means being quacky, and yicky and yucky. Watching these characters make them endearing, but if you actually knew them they would make you nauseous. This, my friends, is the face of independent cinema. Too afraid to make a real point, dancing around, and masking themselves in a stylized form of b.s. We've seen it with Juno, and Thumbsucker, and Michael Ceras and all of these tear-jerking jackasses. This is what an award-winning film means today, and the fact that it was picked up by MGM, and that Juno was a big hit, means that it's infiltrating commercial films as well.

This film isn't all b.s., though. Yes, we are so alone in this world and no one is on the right page and wouldn't it be great to walk down a block with a girl and talk to her about relationships in this metaphoric sense and feel your hearts dance around the subject of becoming a couple. It's nice, don't get me wrong. I actually like that part. And I also like the sensationalized sex scene between the preteen boy and the two young girls. Honestly, it's original and it's a new twist and it's good. The signs from the older man, well, that doesn't really work in real life. And the girls coming to his house and him ducking down, well, in the real world-- remember that-- he would have had his way with them.

But reality isn't always that important in movies. Because it's hyper-realistic and it represents reality and makes us think about things like how alone this older guy is, and well, he's not that bad because he just needs love-- this sentiment would not be felt by people in the real world, mind you. But it works in the movies.

How does this one end? NOT A SPOILER, don't worry if you haven't seen it. It ends like those other independents. Like Juno and that heart-warming song at the end... yes, I liked that, too, but it really doesn't say too much. It ends like that American Beauty scene in the middle with that bag blowing in the wind-- that seems deep and meaningful when you first see it, but after repeated viewings (and I love
American Beauty) you can't help but feeling duped for having gotten suckered into feeling goosebumps from it.

How do these films work on you? It's those musical interludes, of course. Or, should I call them filler? They work, yes, but they can save the most insipid scenes and make them seem deep, and sometimes films like these make the music their bread and butter. There was a time when the movies that stunk had great music to save it, but not these days. The music is simple, synthesized, with a few notes being played with varying pitches and fades. They work for the movies, but musically speaking, they're not that good when they're self-contained.

I like these movies, when they have a real point. American Beauty had a point even if it contained some of these pretentious attributes. It had a grand message of what life is about... even if the subject matter was trite, its presentation was original. That's what independent films crave... originality. And that's where quirkiness comes in; nobody knows how to be original without being quirky, and because every road has been so well-trodden, there seems to be no other way to express yourself. I have a bit of a quirky personality myself, but I'm not as sulky, and under-enthused and weird and spontaneous as these folk. There are people out there who try to emulate these personalities, but let me warn you now if you do: you will, at some point, be punched in the face. Not everybody is keyed-in to your close-up in your imaginary self-absorbed, self-important fantasy film-world, mind you.

These films are about things. There is no real story or point. They have good scenes, though; and original moments, like the goldfish in a bag of water on top of a car and his last moments of life on earth. Or like the sulky girl who cries for thinking the shoe salesman cute weird guy-- like "her kind of weird"-- is getting back together with his wife. These parts make you kinda squirm but they also make you open your heart for these vulnerable characterized characters. So, I'm not saying I don't kind of like it. They leave you feeling: "... Aaaah. Yuck. Hmmm... That's interesting. Hmmm... I didn't get the part, actually... Hey, nice cinematography... she's pretty... he's so weird... that's so me... yeah, I saw that movie... I kinda liked it."

"Kinda", is the operative word, and if you seen enough of these, the "kinda", kinda fades away. Here today, gone tomorrow; in the end, movies like these will most likely make you say, "No, let's not. I saw that already and I liked it, but let's not see it again." October 26, 2008

miserable people with miserable lives

Others have found this movie intriguing if melancholy. I found it totally miserable as well as exploitative. It has that "indie" feel about it with characters that are supposed to be "quirky" and a little off-center. In this case, they are so far off center as to be dangerously deranged. The "hero" celebrates his divorce by setting his own hand on fire. Nice! His neglected kids, one a young teen and the other barely out of kindergarten, get involved in sex chat rooms with deviant adults. The "heroine" is supposed to be a talented performance artist but when we get to see her art, it turns out to be garbage. She falls for the hero for no apparent reason. He brushes her off; she persists and they end the movie clasped in an embrace that looked to me like the grip of a python around its prey. October 20, 2008

Don't watch with your family

A great and extremely quirky movie, but makes for awkward times with a family. Don't say I didn't warn you. October 12, 2008

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This film reminded me quite a bit of "Little Miss Sunshine" without the spunk. Instead of relentless positivism, the characters in M&Y&EWK all display a hunger, a yearning for love and a paralyzing uncertainty born of repeated disappointment. The people are the same unpredictable and mildly-agreeable misfits as "Sunshine" but the film itself is considerably more somber.

There are moments of unanticipated wonder in the film, and although somber the pace never drags so I found it quite easy to endure the overlaid sadness. Every actor is also quite good. The two little boys in particular are scene stealers in every frame they're in, and could've inhabited much larger parts. In the final analysis though the film has "Sundance eccentricity" in its genes as if written to a formula calculated to win awards in Utah. September 7, 2008

Not an instant classic, but a great effort and worth a look

I had mixed feelings about this one. Maybe a second screening is in order.

I can say this much: it's different. The problem is, any many points, it seemed like it was trying to be. It comes off as contrived at times. I would even go as far as saying it had forced "American Beauty" qualities, from the standpoint of trying to capture the essence of life, especially in the forms of human relationships.

The biggest problem for me is that I really didn't feel like I went anywhere with these characters. The only character I felt any sense of growth with was the 6 year old. Everyone else just kind of seemed to be part of random and strange relationships, mostly tied together through the exploration of sex or intimacy, but not in ways one might expect. While I enjoyed most of what I saw, I felt little attachment to any of them. But I came out of it being forgiving of that, because well, I WAS entertained for the most part and that's the best you can hope for in a movie these days.

The scenes are very fresh and mostly entertaining. There's some good humor, symbolism and uniqueness to the settings and circumstances. It's not over the top or grotesque. It has a more simple and quiet tone. There's also a modern edge, which will appeal to many young people.

In the end, I really admire the effort here. While I felt this film was thin in respects to direction and purpose, I would certainly be curious to see the upcoming work from Miranda July. August 1, 2008

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