I saw this movie at the AFI Dallas film festival. James Keane, the director, happened to be there with his wife, Jane Seymour (who is in the movie). He said it's being released in May and if you like it, tell your friends. Well, since I absolutely hated it, I figured I'd do the same. And then I expanded "friends" to include "everyone I could possibly think of".
At the beginning of the movie, we find out that Danny is 22, he's been blind all his life, and he's looking for love. That's about where the fun stops because from this point on he becomes a vehicle for cheap jokes and stereotypes. See Danny run down a hill and smack into a tree! See Danny get tricked into picking up dog poop because his brother tells him it's candy! See Danny walk right smack into a door! See Danny slip and fall on a toy! See Danny's therapist taking off her clothes because she finds him attractive and he can't see her! See his brother faking bench-pressing reps at the gym because he can't see the weights!
His slimy brother, Larry (played by Eddie Kaye Thomas, who apparently watched a lot of Mickey Rourke movies to prepare for the role), just wants him to get laid and sets him up with a string of predictably awful dates. See Danny's first date turn into a complete basket case the minute she finds out he's blind! See Danny's man-eating second date chase him into a bathroom stall! See Danny's third date paw at him under the table and tell a potential John that she costs $500 per visit!
By the way, Larry runs a limo service and he rents it out to prostitutes and their johns when he isn't busy. And this leads to an appalling stereotype. See the Asian man taking lots of pictures and asking Larry to take one of him with his hooker!
Wait, there's more. Leeza, a receptionist at a doctor's office for blind patients, takes a liking to Danny. (Because apparently you have to be someone who works with blind people to ever fall in love with one.) But she's Indian, and therefore her family has an arranged marriage set up for her. See Leeza fighting her mother for the right to marry whoever she wants! See the predictable lowlife she's been matched up with!
This is the first movie I've seen in forever that made me think of Roger Ebert's famous review of "North" as a comparison. You know the one - "I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie." It was stupid, insulting, and actually offensive at times. I guess it was trying to be like "The 40-Year-Old Virgin", which I really enjoyed, but there's a huge difference between that movie and this one. "Virgin" treated its main character with respect, and its characters had human flaws of their own that explained some of their antics. But this movie treats Danny like a joke surrounded by phoned-in caricatures. There's probably a good movie out there about the social awkwardness that can result from being blind, but this is absolutely not it. To think James Keane said he was really proud of this movie.
At the beginning of the movie, we find out that Danny is 22, he's been blind all his life, and he's looking for love. That's about where the fun stops because from this point on he becomes a vehicle for cheap jokes and stereotypes. See Danny run down a hill and smack into a tree! See Danny get tricked into picking up dog poop because his brother tells him it's candy! See Danny walk right smack into a door! See Danny slip and fall on a toy! See Danny's therapist taking off her clothes because she finds him attractive and he can't see her! See his brother faking bench-pressing reps at the gym because he can't see the weights!
His slimy brother, Larry (played by Eddie Kaye Thomas, who apparently watched a lot of Mickey Rourke movies to prepare for the role), just wants him to get laid and sets him up with a string of predictably awful dates. See Danny's first date turn into a complete basket case the minute she finds out he's blind! See Danny's man-eating second date chase him into a bathroom stall! See Danny's third date paw at him under the table and tell a potential John that she costs $500 per visit!
By the way, Larry runs a limo service and he rents it out to prostitutes and their johns when he isn't busy. And this leads to an appalling stereotype. See the Asian man taking lots of pictures and asking Larry to take one of him with his hooker!
Wait, there's more. Leeza, a receptionist at a doctor's office for blind patients, takes a liking to Danny. (Because apparently you have to be someone who works with blind people to ever fall in love with one.) But she's Indian, and therefore her family has an arranged marriage set up for her. See Leeza fighting her mother for the right to marry whoever she wants! See the predictable lowlife she's been matched up with!
This is the first movie I've seen in forever that made me think of Roger Ebert's famous review of "North" as a comparison. You know the one - "I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie." It was stupid, insulting, and actually offensive at times. I guess it was trying to be like "The 40-Year-Old Virgin", which I really enjoyed, but there's a huge difference between that movie and this one. "Virgin" treated its main character with respect, and its characters had human flaws of their own that explained some of their antics. But this movie treats Danny like a joke surrounded by phoned-in caricatures. There's probably a good movie out there about the social awkwardness that can result from being blind, but this is absolutely not it. To think James Keane said he was really proud of this movie.