Youth in Oregon (2017)

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

A man is tasked with driving his embittered 80-year-old father-in-law cross country to be legally euthanized in Oregon, while along the way helping him rediscover a reason for living. Despite the terrific cast of well known and talented actors such as Frank Langella, Billy Crudup, Josh Lucas and Christina Applegate 'Youth in Oregon' is unfortunately a drama that simply doesn't work as much as it might hoped or even as much as i did either. The overall storyline felt weak and was all over the place as well plus Peltz's role was kinda annoying too. (3/10)

Spoiler alert. Here is a 80 years old man who is depressed because he is not "competent", " his candle can no longer stand, and is mournfully laid to rest in the hope of a blessed resurrection which is never to come ( I quoted Mark Twain here). His 68 years old wife "wants that candle -- yearns for it, longs for it, hankers after it", at least this is what filmmakers want us to believe, to the point that she because an alcoholic out of deprivation...LOL. This 80yo man seems to be obsessed with sex, talks about it, sees it everywhere he looks- his young granddaughter, college youth, his wife allegedly looking for sex everywhere... So he can't handle it any longer and decides to die by legal euthanasia in Oregon. His heart stenosis while restricts his life, but nowhere near the agony of people who are true candidates for euthanasia. His suffering is mostly mental. Add to this the never ending family bickering which comes, as expected, to end when grandpa decides to die and you get the picture what this movie is about. Meantime the dying grandpa throws away his walking cane and settles in a lounge chair and starts observing wild birds with a binocular. What message this movie was supposed to deliver? Please let me know, because I missed it.

Another attempt at fooling people with the trailer that this is another little miss sunshine movie . This movie misses completely I like the actors in this movie that's why I watched it but the script Is poor and the story line isn't great . There was no big lines to sense some closure anytime in the movie it was all over the place . The actors never got into character it seems like and they are trying to hard it's almost annoying I'm a 28 year old man thinking about getting old and doing what the motive was the movie is a waste of time . The point of the movie ? When you find out please tell me cause I am lost Oh yea Josh Lucas reappeared in a movie ! Bad one to chose

Greetings again from the darkness. This is one of those tough little indie movies that would fit right in at most film festivals. Directed by Joel David Moore and written by Andrew Eisen, the film has a few exceptional scenes, yet once it's over, it's pretty easy to just leave it behind. That shouldn't happen with a story dealing with a theme of death with dignity. Shouldn't there be a desire to talk about the issue, or at least spend some time in thought?Perhaps the reason this one isn't the gut-punch we expect is that while the central reason for the story is 80 year old Ray's (Frank Langella) desire to end life on his terms, the vast majority of screen time is devoted to the exceptionally dysfunctional family that surrounds him. It's not an "issue" movie, and dysfunctional family movies are about as common as superhero movies these days … we've become a bit numb.Ray and his wife Estelle (Mary Kay Place) are living with their daughter Kate (Christina Applegate), her husband Brian (Billy Crudup) and Kate and Brian's teenage daughter Annie (Nicola Peltz). It's a crowded house where emotions run high, voices are usually amped to 11, and Kate and Brian's marriage is stressed to the limit with responsibilities. Bad news at the doctor's office leads Ray to the crucial decision on his future. He announces this while giving the most uncomfortable birthday speech ever at dinner that evening … "I want to die." It's a terrific scene and each person's reaction is priceless – to the point where we almost wish it were in slow motion so as not to miss anything.Typically poor teenage judgment by daughter Annie means mother Kate stays at home for discipline, while Brian reluctantly agrees to drive Ray cross country to Oregon to find out if he qualifies under the mercy killing law. Estelle and her always present booze come along for the ride, but it's mostly the strained relationship between Ray and Brian that generate the fireworks. Along the way, they add Ray's estranged gay son Danny (Josh Lucas), as well as Brian's angry college age son Nick (Alex Shaffer). Once they reach Oregon, another wonderful scene/sequence occurs as Ray meets up with a longtime friend who has made the same decision. It's a well handled and well acted portion of the story.Ray's decision to hide his medical diagnosis from the family is the source of the most recent conflict, but there's a history in this family. Isn't that always the case? A lack of communication often causes even more issues than too much honesty. The abundance of dysfunction can't be offset by some peaceful bird-watching, and all of the frustration and anger prevents the necessary conversations on the more interesting topic … a reason to live vs. a desire to die. A slight re-focus would have taken more advantage of the terrific performance of Langella, and added some fun to the post movie discussion.