About Alex (2014)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

This movie, About Alex, is such a copy/rip-off of The Big Chill, I honestly don't know how the Screen Writers Guild allows Jesse Zwick to pass this off as an original screenplay. Obviously, he changed the characters and dialog to update to the 21st century, but he has stolen outright so many elements from The Big Chill that there should at least be an acknowledgment, "Based on the Motion Picture..." like there are on other movies that rework original ideas for modern movies (e.g. The Evil Dead).In The Big Chill, the character who commits suicide and inspires the reunion is Alex; in this version, there is also a suicidal character named Alex, though he is unsuccessful in his suicide. One of the characters in About Alex has a younger girlfriend not originally part of the group and she feels awkward around the others - there is a similar character in The Big Chill. Two of the characters hook up after many years, there is an obligatory dance sequence, a pot smoking scene, etc. All of this is straight out of The Big Chill.At one point in About Alex, Aubrey Plaza says something to the effect of "This is like one of those movies in the 80s...". I've seen this same contrivance in other movies used as some sort of way to excuse the fact that the filmmakers have borrowed heavily from an earlier work, but personally I don't believe this is a way out from plagiarism. I know people like to quote, "plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery," but is is still plagiarism.Maybe this would have been somewhat excusable if writer/director Zwick actually had something interesting to say and was able to formulate a movie that actually spoke to people. But instead, he just goes through the predictable motions of creating characters that are so redundant that they are now virtually stereotypes (the suicidal aspiring actor, the blocked writer, etc.) and having them speak a lot of trite "socially pertinent" conversation. I get the impression Zwick just made a list of all the so-called relevant issues of today's 20/30-somethings - e.g. technology, anti-depressants, lack of good pop music - and then planned his scenes accordingly. The end result is a script that is lazy and tepid and does nothing to stand out from all the other movies dealing with these same issues.

Trigger Warning(s): Suicide topics and imageryIt is very weird to see a film about suicide. If just because, to a certain degree, it forces you to realize how odd of a subject it is to approach. Like in the film, we watch Jason Ritter's character, post- suicide attempt, gain this weird peaceful look. A look which reminds you that suicide is caused by many things, but part of the reason comes from a call for help unanswered. Sometimes by friends or even a higher power. Leading to the question: is this film worth seeing or perhaps it should be skipped?Characters & StoryAfter having a bit of a downward spiral due to finances, among other things, Alex (Jason Ritter) decided to slit his wrists. Something he seemed to regret doing for he calls an ambulance for himself, as well as his friend Ben (Nate Parker) (1) who orchestrates a meeting of all of Alex's old friends. This includes Josh (Max Greenfield), a bitter PHD candidate who seems to hate everything and everyone, though probably fears his own company for too long; Siri (Maggie Grace) who is Ben's current girlfriend, the girl Josh wanted before Ben met her; Sarah (Aubrey Plaza), who is an attorney who Josh messed around with since he couldn't have Siri; Isaac (Max Minghella) who is the richest of the group and often clashes with Josh; and then, focusing on Ben, Ben is the one who introduced Alex to everyone and seems to be Alex's rock. Though not when he was in a deep need for his friendship.Leading us on what may feel like a familiar journey of college friends having a reunion, thanks to tragedy, in which their romantic entanglements come out; a lot of sex and drama happens; and ultimately you are left with a sense of hope for the characters, but aren't sure if it may last.PraiseWhen it comes to this movie, I was really only familiar with Aubrey Plaza and Max Greenfield, who both really present themselves as actual actors, and oddly enough didn't approach their roles as one character fits all. Something which sort of shocked me, especially for Plaza, for it showed she had range. Aside from those two I must admit no one else really stood out, but they did present an interesting story and will keep you interested throughout. If just because you'll likely feel most of the characters are developed to the point where perhaps only Siri feels underdeveloped. Ben is a writer whose life isn't how he wants, and now has Siri who he loves, but is sort of growing apart from; Josh looks at Ben as this golden child who got everything he wanted, including things Josh himself wanted; Sarah is professionally successful, but romantically a mess; and Isaac we don't learn a huge amount about, but with his girlfriend Kate (Jane Levy) joining him, and through his interactions with Sarah, while his background may not be developed, through his relationships with Sarah and Kate we do get to know and understand him. Also, I should note, Levy's character, despite not being central to the story, is certainly interesting since she plays a 22 year old, just getting her career started, who is around a bunch of late 20 year somethings who are jaded, in their careers, and she is the outsider dating one of their friends.CriticismAs confrontational as Josh is in the film about Alex's suicide, I feel that this film for some reason glazes over Alex's suicide just a bit too much so that everyone else's drama can get established and developed. With this though, Alex just becomes a catalyst for bringing everyone together and is largely forgotten about. And truly, after watching the film, only Sarah and Josh really stand out and everyone else strangely feel like their co-stars. Part of the reason is because Josh says things which get your attention, and Sarah is presented as more human than anyone in the film. For, in my opinion, as much as everyone does get the chance to be developed, between the information being boring, and their delivery not really getting my attention anyway, it really makes it so the film seems to sit on Plaza and Greenfield's shoulders.Like with Ben and Siri, they are made interesting due to Josh's jealousy, but take that away Josh from them and they lose any of their draw. The same goes for Isaac and Kate to a point, if Sarah wasn't pining over Isaac since she sees him as the one who she should have been with, then they also lose a lot of what kept them relevant. Though, again, the biggest victim is Alex since after his suicide attempt, pretty much Josh's callous ways, and Sarah trying to dote on him, are the sole reminders that what brought everyone together was him.Overall: TV ViewingPerhaps this maybe wrong to say, but in light of recent events I was hoping this film would really explore what leads a person to suicide and also how it effects the survivors in terms of the guilt associated with them perhaps being capable of preventing the suicide attempt, as well as trying to work with the person if they live. And while those topics are mentioned, they get drowned out in everyone's personal drama to the point you wonder why this movie is called About Alex when in truth it is more about everyone but him. Though, even with that said, this was a good movie to me and is very watchable. But, with it not really hitting the topic of suicide hard, and letting the would-be supporting characters end up the stars, I have to say this film deserves the "TV Viewing" label.

Five college friends and a plus one physically come together to watch a friend after he tries to commit suicide but in all other regards they spend the majority of the weekend egocentrically delving into their own unresolved self-generated baggage.It is hard for a film, when it's basically a remake pretending not to be because this time the suicide victim isn't a victim but an attemptee but is hypocritically self-aware and gives homage to its predecessor, to do what it wants authentically without resembling a rip-off. And, fair warning, I have seen The Big Chill, and unintentionally watched it again a week before watching About Alex.From the get-go you know to expect self-indulgent intellectualisms but About Alex is nothing but pretentious ramblings, giving it a loathsome hipsterly quality. The atmosphere of the entire movie is bordering on combative as they angrily banter through the tension. Maybe this was a deliberate decision from writer/director Jesse Zwick; to put a mirror to the disjointed self absorbed nature of the generation and act as a representation and critique of the Facebook age. One would think that people coming together to help another through the days immediately following a suicide attempt would be kind and loving but for the most of the movie you forget they were even friends. The acting is good and roles fully formed, of which Jane Levy and Max Greenfield are most successful, but they can not save their faulted characters.The directing and composition of shots was uninspired, average, and literal. There is an art to telling a story without having it plainly done with the characters' dialogue and that is completely missing from About Alex. This is evident from the very beginning when Zwick decides to waste five minutes showing: the suicide attempt, everyone getting the call about the suicide attempt and making their arrangements to go and deal with the suicide attempt. Instead he could have saved five minutes, had everyone somberly encounter one another, leaving the dialogue as-is where the true subject for being together is implied and pussyfooted around and then cut to the one friend left at the cabin as he tries to clean the bloodstained bathtub. All conversations between two characters are over the shoulder framed close-ups that cut back and forth as they talk to one another.I wanted to like this movie, the trailer had me so hopeful and the cast is sublime but About Alex is masturbatory and decidedly not The Big Chill of our generation.Check out our website for more movie and television reviews!

I just saw this movie and I am really hoping that many people will go see it. While I found myself comparing it to the Big Chill in several spots, the characters do a good job at making it their own. The casting is incredible. I was fully immersed in the story, hoping for certain outcomes in the character's lives, feeling deeply for some, finding comedic relief in others. Being that the attempted suicide by one member of this group of friends is at the heart of this "reunion", I have to applaud Jesse Zwick for not only taking it on, but for also not shying away from showing the many layers of human emotion that surround it ... the misunderstandings, outrage, fear and blame, guilt, and above all love and forgiveness, and hopefully different choices that can be made as an outcome. Good job to the new director/screen writer. You had me at hello.