 | |
List Price: $29.99 | | Label: 20th Century Fox
Salesrank: 1534
Released: December 22, 2009 |
| Our Price: $18.99 |
|
|
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: DVD |
|
Editorial Review:
A hunky TV news cameraman named Steve (Bradley Cooper, hot off of surprise hit The Hangover) gets stalked by a lonely crossword puzzle creator named Mary (Sandra Bullock, in a career resurgence after The Proposal) in the comedy All About Steve. Although only one screenwriter is credited, All About Steve feels like it's been clumsily patched together from a dozen different versions of itself. The story makes no sense and there's very little that resembles recognizable human behavior...and yet, for that very reason, the movie exerts a perverse fascination. Some parts are actually funny--Thomas Haden Church (Sideways), as a reporter hungry for an anchor position, unleashes arias of manipulative babble--but most of the movie is just baffling. The filmmakers seem to think they're sending a heartwarming message about embracing yourself, no matter how out of the mainstream you may be. Unfortunately, all of the "quirky" people come across as brain-damaged because they're not really people, they're emblems of "uniqueness." Mary is meant to be endearingly eccentric, yet her social ineptness verges on schizophrenia or severe autism. At every turn, All About Steve unintentionally reminds the viewer that someone wrote this, that someone thought this bit of behavior or this turn of phrase would somehow make us like this character or find them charming. Unfortunately, that someone was very, very off the mark. The result--seeing the bald intentions under the failed result--is a jarring yet oddly compelling experience. Also featuring DJ Qualls (Hustle & Flow) and Katy Mixon (Eastbound & Down). --Bret Fetzer
All About Steve Reviews:
Worst movie Sandra Bullock has ever done! 
2009-11-14 - Sandra Bullock's over the top charm just isn't enough to save this horrible script. This has to be one of the worst comedies i've seen in while. I can't believe Bradley Cooper went from one of the best comedies ever (The Hangover) to this. Sandra Bullock also amazed me with her role in my pick for Best Romantic Comedy of the year, The Proposal. What happened? This movie is supposed to be funny but it doesn't deliver. It's about this nerdy woman falling for this news camera man who could careless about her. She follows him all over the country trying to prove her love when clearly he does not want to be with her. This could have been very funny but most of the jokes fall flat. With the exception of the always humourous performance of Thomas Hadden Church, nothing in this movie is really funny. Sandra Bullock is a great actress but her character is extremely annoying in this film. You are supposed to feel sorry for her but it's impossible. She is a walking contradiction, If she's suppose to be so intelligent how is that she can't see this guy does not want her. Was she blinded by love? No, because at the end she comes to her senses and walks away from him like he's a complete nobody. I don't think this one is even worth renting. It's a complete waste of time unless you are a huge Sandra Bullock fan like me. Then it's almost worth it.
quite entertaining 
2009-11-10 - I found this movie to be quite entertaining. I have relatives that talk almost as much as Sandra's character in this movie. I found myself laughing a fair amount of the time during the movie. I got the joke that the media always looks for the worst in a situation to sensationalize it. When you watch the movie you have to wait until the end of the credits, there is a bonus scene after the credits that is worth waiting for. Is it the greatest movie ever, no, but it is good movie to make you laugh.
just the cutest movie ever 
2009-10-08 - how could anyone not love this film? with snappy , smart dialogue and a beautiful soundtrack, i laughed out loud throughout the entire production and even got a little teary eyed towards the end when the movie began to deliver its wonderful message of acceptance and love in the face of intolerance and determining what is truly different and special and unique vs. what may be deemed "abnormally" or socially inappropriate. the point , as mary follows her cameraman crush cross-country, is that she is most definitely NOT an unhinged, deluded "stalker," but instead is a lovely, lonely, and enthusiastic and intelligent woman...a woman who is searching for answers in some of the wrong places, to questions a beautiful soul like her shouldn't even be asking. also features a NOT YOUR TYPICAL HOLLYWOOD SELL-OUT ending--and--get this--a cameo appearance by HOWARD HESSMAN, dr. johnny fever himself, as mary's dad. see this one guys, you won't regret it. :)
Strange Road Trip....but Oddly Entertaining. 
2009-09-27 - People Magazine gave this a 1/2 star out of 5. It truly wasn't that bad.
Here are my thoughts.
Sandra Bullock's character is awkward and that is an understatement. This still-at-home-with-mom-and-dad crossword-puzzle-creator is an unique blend of Cliff Clavin (Cheers) Napoleon Dynamite and Pippi Longstocking. I struggled with whether to like Mary and cheer her on or to just be annoyed and laugh at her when she fell into the big hole. I ended up doing both.
Basic plot: Mary, due to outside pressures, thinks she needs to take her one last shot of normalcy by embracing (understatement) a blind date. When he comes to pick her up and turns out to be "hot" she does this creepy silent stare thing and runs back upstairs to put some sexy on. A truly awkward scene follows when she jumps Steve (Bradley Cooper), not after an okay date but before they even pull away from her folks' house. At first Steve is dazzled by the skin and enthusiasm but then he begins to think she might be crazy so he invents an excuse...a phone call sending him away. While he's attempting to get her out of the van before she truly goes crazy he mentions wishing she could go with him. More circumstances make that a possibility. Some may call it stalking, Mary calls it many, many other things in long paragraphs and polysyllabic words.
Mary is not just a person who talks all the time -- she's a walking encyclopedia of random facts -- and she ends up alienating loads of people on her quest to find Steve. Then she becomes a hero, accidentally, of course. Thomas Haden Church plays the annoying, selfish anchorman wanna-be and he eggs Mary on. Though I wasn't sure what his motivation was exactly his encouragement got Mary to relentlessly pursue Steve. Most of the characters are oddly eccentric, almost cartoonish, from Mary's parents to Haden Church's nemesis. It was almost as if the movie was an attempt to tell a quirky feel good story blended with a parody. It's one of the stranger films I've seen.
Content warnings. The groping scene in the beginning 20 minutes of so of the movie goes on too long and it should be screened before child/young teen viewing. That probably won't be an issue though since most children will likely get bored. Several sexual references are scattered throughout the film. One news story that Steve chases down involves a fight over amputating a baby girl's third leg and there are a few obvious body part innuendo/references. Some language. Some skin, mostly cleavage.
There are several amusing one-liners and descriptives and a pretty sweet tornado besides some great physical comedy and pratfalls. A few scenes are laugh-out-loud funny. Many, many more are shake-the-head shrug inspiring. I'll give it a 3 and I'll probably watch it again when it hits DVD, if for no other reason, to see if I understand it a little better. Maybe it will have that Napoleon Dynamite magic. I didn't like it the first time I watched it either.
LOL 
2009-09-20 - All About Steve stars Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper (from The Hangover). I'm not a fan of Sandra's movies, but this one i found hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud to this. I'm going to probably buy this when it comes to DVD. Recommended.