Barbara Sydney

Soooo many closeups of soooooo many blue eyes. Tiresomely. Slow, silly, just plain inane. Best performances: Nicole (well, duh), Liev Scheiber (always good) the two police detectives, particularly Donna Lynn Champlin. Ewe H. ——so much sucking, munching, puckering, wringing her lips —-enough already. Written poorly.

Awkward performances. Acting not merely understated, but rarely ‘stated’ at all. The story line as an amalgamation of movies I’ve seen before: a bunch of lost unloved prep school boys, well off, but otherwise deprived, a curmudgeonly professor, pinched by-the-book school administrator, distant unengaged parents, lovable “help” wise beyond their socio-economic station, some gratuitous tear jerking moments. Some scenes were bafflingly unnecessary and provided nothing to the plot. Paul Giamatti is an engaging actor, but I’ve seen him do better. I’d give it a C because it wasn’t horrible. But, I am amazed at the buzz this mostly meh movie has generated.