Blue Jasmine

Starring: Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Sally Hawkins, Peter Sarsgaard, Andrew Dice Clay, Louis C.K.
Directed by: Woody Allen
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2013

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A New York socialite (Cate Blanchett) loses everything and moves in with her not-well off sister (Sally Hawkins) in San Francisco.

Review:

Tim: Are people stupid? How could so many people love this movie? Woody Allen has real talent as a filmmaker, of course, but he is not above reproach. This film feels to me like an example of people getting caught up in Woody Allen and not really paying attention to the film itself. I thought this was an overly negative, pessimistic, depressing movie about awful people. There was zero redeeming qualities in the characters. I hated this movie and I'm stunned that so many people claim to love it.

How can people relate to anyone in this film? The characters are just the worst kinds of S.O.B.'s. They are despicable, hateful, selfish, awful people that I never felt any kind of connection to. Why did Woody Allen work so hard to make us dislike everyone in the cast? It just doesn't make any sense. I didn't care at all about anyone on screen- so why would I care what they did, what happened to them, or how it all turned out? I wouldn't. Watching this movie was a slog because I had zero emotional investment in the film. This is just awful.

Cate Blanchett does give an incredible performance- there's no doubt about that. She puts it all on the line as this complete disaster of a human being. She is a train wreck and a half, and it is somewhat fun to watch a person hit rock bottom. Blanchett won the Academy Award for Best Actress. I'm not 100% sure I would have given it to her, but she gives a remarkable performance and is the best part of this film. I just wish she wasn't completely unlikable.

The rest of the supporting cast is good on paper, but again- terrible, unlikeable characters. Alec Baldwin is really good at playing sleazy, unlikeable characters, so he's fine at that. I really don't get Sally Hawkins- I do not understand why people think she's so good. I thought she gave a perfectly fine performance here, but for some reason, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. I am not convinced she deserved this. I suppose she was fine, but I think she's an overrated actress. Peter Sarsgaard is probably the closest thing to a likeable character in this film, which makes sense because he's not in it very long. The cast just underwhelmed me- but this was infinitely more about Woody Allen's script than about their talents.

The film is only 98 minutes, but it felt like I was watching this movie for a hundred years. The last 40 minutes were agonizingly slow. I was sitting there with a pained, bored expression on my face, just thinking- "When is this movie going to be over?" I must have thought that question 3-4 times every minute. I hated the experience of watching this movie and was so incredibly relieved when it was finally over.

I really don't get why so many people thought this was a great movie. It's a bleak, depressing, boring film about stupid, awful people. I get enough of all that in real life. This movie does feature a great performance by Cate Blanchett, but that's really it's only redeeming quality. Outside of that, this is one of the worst movies I saw in 2013.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 4



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