Episode 100.5 - The Savages Review 8/10

The Savages - 2007 - Tamara Jenkins

I am not fan of having to tell myself over and over again "just because you really despise a single character doesn't make it a bad movie," (with the exception of Jason Biggs) but The Savages really made me want to reach through the screen and try to strangle somebody. Specifically Wendy Savage (Laura Linney), a neurotic, borderline Munchausen's, conceited psychopath who believes the entire world should revolve around either her or whatever is in her current field of vision. Her incessant whining and dissatisfaction with the mundane details of the world around her really overtook the rest of the movie and made it really hard to enjoy but then again that was the damn point of her character and I can't dock the movie points for that because they were actually nice enough to take those stupid flaws and integrate them into the story…stupid decent writing.

But anyway, so you know what the hell story I'm talking about The Savages focuses around Wendy and John Savage (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and the father they haven't spoken to in two decades who is forced out of his residence after his girlfriend dies and his vengeful, cranky self starts writing messages on the wall with his own feces (for some people that means "start the party," but sadly, not with these homeowners). With the sudden realization that they need to pull together as a family, Wendy and John, who have also remained distant from each other, spring into action to ensure that their mentally ill dad is taken care of, while having to deal with the bonding experience that is shopping for nursing homes.

Whereas I was expecting some sort of story where this whole ordeal actually rendered some positive changes in each person's life, Savages pulls the "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" card and accepts that egomaniacal bitch Wendy and "Cranky, Drunk, Midget in Philip Seymour Hoffman's body for like the dozenth movie in his career" John are who they are and that won't be changing just because they were reunited which I can respect to an extent, though this movie was devoid the fun moments of revelation when a character realizes they just got their shit rocked. Then again, it's those kinds of moments that are either overdone, or done so horribly that they wind up in the microwave (see My Best Friend's Girl).

The odd thing about this is that I really enjoyed this movie despite the sometimes overwhelming character flaws (which is different than "flaws in a character," mind you). The characters were very real and their responses to the sudden predicament in front of them as well as the inconvenient intrusions of the life they had to put on hold were approached with a heartwarming truth that fit their personality well. This isn't a movie that's designed to keep you constantly smiling and it's not one that's designed to make you sit there and think about it for hours afterwards (fuck you, Magnolia). This is simply three people, each of whom could very well exist, and the tale of their reunion. Once it's over, go your separate way and call it good. Ya know, sometimes those are just the best kinds of movies. Nice easy pace, no real bumps in between.

I came into The Savages with no idea of what I was getting into. No synopsis, no trailer, no stupid vague paragraph on the back of the box. It's something I've done before with other movies in the BackLOG and with many of those, I've struggled to understand what exactly was going on because I didn't have that general "this is what we are going to try to show you" preview to reference when, say, an idiot found panties in an elevator and tried to use them to find his dream girl…that's usually something you'd like a bit of a warning on. But The Savages didn't have that problem. It was slow and easy enough to understand on its own and I appreciated it greatly. I recommend the watch. Don't expect anything amazing; don't expect mindblowing or inspiration. Just expect good.

For the final review of the BackLOG, I close out this series giving The Savages 8 dustbusters out of 10. Good way to go.