by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
I really liked this movie. It was a nice middling movie based on a late 70s to mid-80s memoir. It had a lot of great music and an excellent, stand out performance by Ben Affleck. He should at least get a Oscar nom for his performance.
My only quibbles were that it was a bit too on-the-nose with its maudlin, heartfelt memories. Ok, we get it. And, really, the one thing that bugged the shit out of me was the romantic subplot. I’m sure it’s far more fleshed out in the book that the movie was based on, but I just wasn’t feeling it.
I did not have any emotional attachment to the Hero’s longing for the young woman he was so smitten for. There was no there there. It was a meh romance because it all happened so quickly and was rushed over that I just didn’t care. I know the movie couldn’t have been 3 hours to accommodate making that particular important subplot more viable, but, still.
I would have just cut that element of the story altogether if they weren’t going to finesse it enough to make the audience care.
Also, it is amusing that Affleck had a supporting role, but totally dominated the movie. It felt very much like a Affleck vehicle, even though it obviously wasn’t. Anyway, I really liked The Tender Bar.
Two thumbs up, as they say.
