Wednesday, July 09, 2008
In the first place this is not intended nor does it result in being a feel-good movie. Although the Iraq war is the back-drop and the fruitlessness of that enterprise is implied this is a one-issue piece that single-mindedly polemicizes the unjustness of the policy that gives the movie its title and in doing so tends to overstate its case. Wrote to a friend this past weekend that I was interested in seeing what kind of sparks two such hunks as Channing Tatum and Ryan Phillippe struck off one another but I had not seen sufficient plot details to be prepared for the knock em down drag it out fight the two friends have near the end of the film. Somehow I'm not convinced that the older and smaller Brandon would have been able to best the taller and heavier Steve nor have I taken the time to read sufficient trade gossip to learn what the actors thought about the affair or the nature of their off-screen relationship.
Let it be said that a female director appears to be at pains not to exploit the studly nature of her two stars. Despite many scenes shot in southern Texas and Iraq we get only fleeting glimpses of well-developed pecs through open shirts. What is very apparent is the gun culture that seems to pervade American society. Gun racks grace living rooms and the rear windows of most trucks. Despite their recent return from conflict these 'good ole boys' treat their guns like toys they unwind with using bottles as target practice. As his buddy reads the greeting cards a jilted newly-wed blasts away at his wedding presents. In the final analysis this movie ends up being a fruitless road trip during which Abbie goes along for the ride in an attempt to keep Brandon from going off the deep end. If there is a second theme here it is the traumas of war and post-stress syndrome.
# posted by garthmailman@gmail.com @ 7:01 am 
