The Clapper (2018)

Don't listen to the negative reviews

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I had high hopes for The Clapper-the premise seemed great and I love Amanda Seyfried and Ed Helms. But half an hour in, I ended up fast forwarding to the end of the film. Helms and Seyfried do a great job and their love story was sweet, but the rest of the film didn't really know what it wanted to be. The cast does a great job, but they can't save this sinking ship.This movie is apparently based on a book, but I'm not interested in reading it after seeing the film.

Like so many WA movies, this one features a haggard, unattractive middle-aged loser who becomes obsessed with a beautiful young woman who looks like she's young enough to be his daughter. And she, incredibly, finds him attractive in return. Really? Are we still doing this in 2018? It was disturbing enough when Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn were teamed up (and he knew it), but 60 years on and Hollywood is still perpetuating the myth that this is normal and okay.Add to that a slew of unlikable characters (Ed Helms must be the most annoying actor next to Will Ferrell) and witless dialogue, and this was about the longest 90 minutes I've ever spent.The movie does have an interesting concept, but an unbelievable love story and awkward casting does it in.

An engaging slightly off-beat romantic comedy that probably delivers more observations about rubbish TV than the love interest. Director Montiel has found an original idea in looking at the life of Eddie Krumble, Ed Helms, who is a professional audience worker (and maybe there are several hundred of these folk in La La land). The love theme running through the movie between Eddie and Judy (a sweet performance from Amanda Seyfried) who is a gas-station attendant has its ups and downs but provides a suitable ending.It was the TV background that I found more entertaining, with a very credible performance from Russell Peters as the talk-show host Stillerman, the way the audiences are manipulated by the on-set producer and intriguingly the 'spontanious' chat between Stillerman and Eddie seemed to be rolling along on the teleprompter. Well worth a look.

This unrealistic romp around L.A. is unfortunately neither a good comedy nor a cute romance. The silly premise focuses on a poor schlub named Eddie Krumble, who is trying to eke out a living as a paid "plant" in audiences for infomercials. He wears various disguises, but eventually is recognized, achieving his fifteen minutes of fame on a television talk show.The romantic connection involves Eddie's love for Judy, a young woman who works in a gas station. The most unconvincing part of the film was when Judy feels betrayed and "stalked" when Eddie tries to locate her, using his newfound notoriety on television to reconnect with Judy after she left him. The plot line was absurd and, and the plot holes were wider than the San Fernando Valley.The filmmakers were not successful in squeezing any humor out of the reality tv plot. And they failed equally in the love story. The large cast of supporting characters who were the "eccentrics" of Los Angeles were disconcerting in light of the deeply troubling poverty, homelessness, and dire straits of Los Angelenos today. The exact area where the film was occurring currently resembles something between a Third World nation and a war zone.