Director: Daisy von Scherler Mayer
Running time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
The movie starts off with Adam Brody,who is never named through the film and is credited as man, in a hotel room waiting for Sam (Jrnnifer Morrison) his ex-girlfriend. And after that he waits in a hotel room for Tyler (Mia Maestro). And then Lindsay (Emily Watson). And Reggie (Zoe Kazan). And Bobbi (Kristen Bell). Adam Brody is on a "tour" to find and talk to his ex-girlfriends before he gets married. And he does. And many things happen.
Fun little fact: the movie is based on a play by Neil LaBute that ran in both London and New York City. And the screenplay for the movie was, also, written by Neil LaBute.
SAM (Seattle). Sam is the high school sweetheart. The girl from school that Brody's character broke up with before leaving for college.He didn't want to stay in his hometown and have a mediocre life. And he knew that was what Sam would end up having.
Sam's story is greatly relatable for many people and that is what i loved about it. It is something out of real life and that makes it all the more genuine and realistic. I, also, feel that it was the best one to start off with. It was the most simple one of all of them and a great way to ease us into the whole movie.
Sam's reaction was spot on. Not too dramatic but not apathetic either. It was the perfect way for an everyday, girl-next-door woman to react. It was the perfect way for someone like Sam to react.
TYLER (Chicago). Tyler is the adventurous girl. She is the girl with whom Brody experimented and got more in touch with his wild side. However, as Adam Brody discovers throughout their talk in the hotel room, she isn't really one of the girls he "wronged". He just thought she was because of the pain he felt while he was with her. But that pain was, in reality, for the girl he broke up with to be with Tyler. That pain was for a girl that comes up later in the list.
What i really enjoyed about this story is that it is a very suitable continuance from the previous story. After having relationships with sweet yet somewhat ordinary girls, Brody was attracted to the adventurous and unfamiliar wild-girl. It seems natural that Brody chose to get involved with Tyler at the point in his life where he was experiencing his life in a new light, after leaving home.
And like Sam, i thought that Tyler's reaction was perfect. It was obvious that even though Brody's character had made an impression, he wasn't someone she would stay very long with. But she was still hurt, even though you could tell she was tough, when he told her that she wasn't that important to him after all. That she was a "second" choice.
LINDSAY (Boston). Lindsay is the older woman who is, also, married. She got together with Brody's character when he started working at the school she was a teacher at and they started having an affair. They were eventually caught and she stayed and faced the consequences while Brody ran away and left her alone.
Lindsay blames Brody not only for leaving her when the times got tough but, also, for the affair they were in.
On the other side, Brody's character regrets abandoning her but doesn't feel that the affair was something to be guilty about.
My opinion about Lindsay's story and her reaction, which i won't spoil but it was a little bit extreme, is that Lindsay was not forced into the affair by anyone and she was the only one involved with someone else at the time. So she only has to blame herself. However it was understandable that she blamed Brody too, especially after the way he treated her.
So i feel that Lindsay's story was the one that was the most educational. She did something she regretted afterwards and she managed seeing Brody again in a human way but she, also, taught him a lesson and tried to make him understand that his actions affect others.
REGGIE (Seattle...again). Reggie is Brody's best friend's sister. She is the young girl that had a crush on him. But, at the same time, she is the girl with whom things went too far. The girl that was the most affected by Brody's behavior without him even realising it.
Reggie is, also, the girl that, in my opinion, got the most out of Brody's visit. In all the visits you could tell that Brody's reasons for the "tour" down memory lane were selfish. It was obvious that by the end of these conversations the person that was most benefited was Brody. However, in Reggie's case she was the one that walked out another person. A free person that was no longer carrying baggage from her past.
Reggie's story was the point where you understood how serious the movie really is. That it isn't just another movie about love but a movie about human behavior and human interactions.
BOBBI (Los Angeles). We have arrived. We are at the last stop of the exes train. We are at Bobbi's story. Remember the girl that Brody left in order to be with Tyler?? Well that girl is Bobbi.
Bobbi's story is the most crucial in the whole movie, hence it's the last one. SPOILER ALERT!! For me the most important thing in Bobbi's storyline (more important than the mike itself) is that Bobbi saw Brody's true nature from the start. She called him out on his bullshit before she even discovered the truth.She was a badass.
As far as the microphone goes, i really didn't see it coming (and maybe i should have). I knew his reasons for all of this were self centered but i didn't realise how much. And, frankly i loved it. I didn't see it coming but i did believe it in a second.
Which brings me to another major point. Brody's character was an asshole. BUT you didn't realise it right away. The script is so good that as the movie progresses the more you start to understand what kind of person Brody really is. You can't tell right from the begging but as you move forward in the story pieces start to click and his character starts to reveal himself. It's pretty great to watch.
Now back to Bobbi, as expected Brody comes to the conclusion (genuine or not) that she is the one for him. But she still leaves him realising that he is still the same person and that he will never change.
And that is what makes the ending so great (both; the one with Bobbi and the very end of the movie). You see that even with all the things that happened throughout his journey he learned nothing and he didn't grow at all from the experience. You understand that not everyone can change and it's fascinating to watch.
In conclusion, a great movie in my opinion. A real dive into the human soul and a testament to human behavior and its consequences. A must-watch.
Score: 92%
m.
Courtesy
Leeden Media
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