At Any Price (2012)

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Good concept, poorly executed.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

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

Hollywood has never been able to get the heartland right. Every time they try, it's an unnatural mating. The script is unrealistic, the acting is forced, they just don't know real America well enough to even fake it halfway realistically.This film has every cringe-worthy moment - a father whose character overacts in a way that nobody acts in real life and who talks about mechanical stuff like he doesn't know his way around a wrench even though he runs a farm; a son who hates his dad for unknown reasons supposedly because his dad wants the son to continue the family farm (why be angry about it?); simulated sex in a grain silo that feels more like something nasty on a Hollywood back street than a Midwestern farm, a girl who hangs out at the farm supposedly because she likes the son but hangs out with the dad more than the son. Nothing makes sense and the script is out of whack and the acting is awful. Big fat zero.

As an Iowan married to a farmer I was hoping that this would be a good movie. I was so bored and cared so little what happened to the characters in the story line I turned it off at minute 25. I can't remember the last movie I didn't at least try to suffer through. MAYBE it got better later in the movie, but I doubt it. The only redeeming quality about this movie was the landscape and mention of little towns and counties that I recognized, but it was filmed in Illinois so there was obviously nothing recognizable as uniquely Iowan (and yes, there are landmarks and sites that are uniquely Iowan). That's 25 minutes I'll never get back.

I'm aware of criticisms people have of this movie. I even agree with some of them. And yet, I'm sure I'll remember it for a long time and I'll remember liking it a lot. Yes, it's melodramatic. Yes, it has 1 or 2 bits that are trashier than necessary. (Hey, I like a trashy bit now and then.) Are the characters likable? I think so but when did that become the No. 1 criterion for evaluating a drama? Disclosure: I'm originally from a few miles where this was actually filmed. I feel like I know this movie. The cast spans all ages and I find it especially gratifying to watch emerging stars, there are a couple of those in this. The film deals with serious subjects but it's not a message film. Makes you think but does not --would not-- tell you what to think. Contemporary midwestern noir. Click on the trailer and decide whether to watch the whole film. Many of you will wanna watch.

If you find yourself depressed and confused in life altogether, this movie will hit home for you. It has no meaning and truly no plot worth entertaining.From front to finish I asked myself, "what am doing watching this?" I kept thinking in all the overly goofy acting by Quaid, "surely this gets better, right?" NO! It was hideous and the ending was worse than the body of the movie. I recommend the swine flu over the viewing of this terrible film!I cannot believe Quaid, Efron, and Heather Graham are hurting so bad for roles, that they would stoop this low. I bet they looked at each other after the first viewing and burst out laughing at what a ridiculous pile of film they partook in!