The Trouble with Bliss (2011) Reviews

• Better than rated

  davidcla-471-6179402012-09-08

  Despite the mediocre rating we decided to watch this and were surprised. It's quite a bit better than the rating. The well acted, odd storyline kept us interested. The main character is seemingly an unmotivated mid-thirties flunky who evolves throughout the film, but not how you might expect. Despite his lack of redeeming qualities he somehow draws you in. Perhaps it is his innate charm, or his boyish qualities and laissez faire approach. His quirky teen-aged girlfriend simultaneously provokes and entices, impossible to predict - nearly. This is not a formulaic Hollywood piece, though the film does not exactly break new ground either. Enjoy!! We did.

• It grows on you

  nowego2012-05-26

  I wasn't sure whether to watch this or not initially, but I liked the look of the cast list and went with it to see what happened. I can say that in a lot of ways I am glad I did. While not a world winner it was good enough to entertain me for 90 minutes. Michael C Hall is was the lead actor and was IMO well suited to the role of a man with no money, no prospects and only one big dream, to travel the world. He is stuck in a rut living with his father (Peter Fonda) in a pokey little flat. His life needs a kickstart and he gets it from the consequences of his very short liaison with the 18 year old daughter (Brie Larson) of one of his school mates (Brad William Henke). One word to describe this movie would be weird, but it was a fun sort of weird and there are some amusing parts that make it worth the watch. Not a movie for someone looking for lots of action.

• likable indie flick

  boilinabag2013-06-05

  been on showtime lately. watched it a few times. yes, the movie is ragged indie, and some of the characters are a little un developed. but miss larson, is great. she is sexy without being overt. even quirky. this is one of the better low budget flicks i have seen in a while... the bliss character is almost autistic, he deadpans thru the whole film. the side characters are weirdly off putting yet interesting. and peter fonda depressed the hell out of me, seeing him as a shut in old guy. but all in all, i like to see small films that have storys and not a freakin explosion thru out.... liked the soundtrack too, set a good mood for the film, also an issue with me today. worth a look.

• This movie should be more like a 6.5 or 7

  twild762014-03-04

  I Love Michael C. Hall and if you liked Six Feet Under or Dexter I would highly recommend this film. It has an indie feel, it's not for anyone looking for an action film or a romantic comedy. Very real down to earth movie, if you have ever been depressed or felt like hiding away then you could related to the main character. All the acting is very well done and the female actresses "Brie Larson" "Lucy Lu" and "Sarah Shahi" are very attractive. It's also not going to take up much time at about an hour and a half. I got this movie out not expecting much because of the mediocre rating, but I'll let you be the judge because I was pleasantly surprised.

• The usual indie blender-car

  name99-92-5453892016-01-03

  What's a blender car? Suppose you're out buying cars and the salesman tells you that this car's special feature is that not only will it take you places, provide a great GPS system etc, but it has a blender built into the back seat. Are you impressed? Pretty much every indie movie I see is a blender-car. Rather than concentrating on perfecting the A-story, the scriptwriter and/or director and/or producer insist on throwing in a totally irrelevant blender which simply wastes time and detracts from the main story. For this particular movie, the blender is, I can't even describe it, some weird theory that conspiracies of unknown people secretly control the world or something. It certainly has nothing to do with the A-story of man-child growing up after two sub-optimal female encounters. So what's the bottom line? The A-story is something you've seen a million times. Man child, grumpy father, precocious 18yr old girl, you know the deal. I kept watching it because the verve and unpredictability of Brie Larson was delightful, but that's not enough. Meanwhile the blender is just pointless with no sort of payoff and no connection to the rest of the movie; removing its 5 minutes would have changed utterly nothing. So, yeah, don't waste your time. The best dialog occurs in the first ten minutes, and waiting for the rest of the movies to reproduce that spark is just disappointing.