Reviewed by Jami Ferguson
The previews before
American Loser are mostly National Lampoon's movies. I am not a fan of National Lampoon movies
that don't star Chevy Chase. I've been
told by those that love these types of movies that I just have no sense of
humor. I think I can definitely
appreciate funny. It’s stupid/funny that
I have a hard time seeing as anything but stupid. Before American
Loser starts I'm already thinking I have made a mistake agreeing to review
this film.
Film (1/2 out of 5 stars)
American Loser stars
Seann William Scott as Jeff Nichols, the loser the film centers around. Jeff is a recovering alcoholic with attention
problems, a mild case of tourettes, balance problems, dyslexia and a slew of
other issues he shares with various alcoholics anonymous members at
meetings. Jeff mistakenly claims that he
is good at substitute teaching but aspires to be a standup comedian. He has serious mommy issues, including the
fact that he still calls her mommy. He
passes out when he sees new balance shoes, because his balance problem is not
actually related to balance, but the word "balance."
Gretchen Mol is Lynn, a
beautiful woman with a sugar daddy of her own, who makes Jeff want to be a
better man. Gretchen doesn't have as
many problems as Jeff, but she certainly has issues of her own. Jeff Garlin rounds out the cast as Lenny, an
alcoholic that Jeff is mentoring - his only real friend. Gretchen overlooks a lot of things, but
finally dumps Jeff when a gift she received is repossessed.
Many of the people
listening to Jeff's stories say that listening to his problems makes them feel
better about themselves. I think it’s
safe to say that most of the addicts, with all of their issues, are better off
than Jeff. Jeff sinks boats, has issues
with a stuffed puma, and blames everything on his learning disabilities. Burning his parents house down is only one of Jeff's low points.
American Loser, with a running time of 94 minutes, seemed to me to take a
lifetime to finish. If I wasn't reviewing the movie, I would have turned it off already. I keep asking myself during the whole movie "what is the point?". The filmmakers have established the fact that
Jeff is the biggest loser on the planet so why continue the endless examples of why that's case? He is the ultimate loser, and sadly this is based on a true story. What
I can't figure out is why I am expected to care. It is painful to watch Jeff run into old
boarding school friends on the street and ask if they have a few bucks to
spare. All in all, this is a very disappointing movie which is too bad because Seann William Scott can be very funny given the right material and director.
Video (1 1/2 out of 5 stars)
The video quality adds
insult to injury. American Loser is not in high definition, it's only DVD, and it has
a lot of images that are so bad it surprised me. I can't remember seeing a picture with so much visual
noise. In one specific low light bedroom
scene it can almost be described as static.
There are issues with clarity, skin tones, and contrast. The only good thing I can say is that it's
presented in a 16x9 widescreen 1.78:1 ratio.
Audio (2 out of 5 stars)
The audio fairs slightly
better than the video. The dialogue is
at an even level overall but I found the sound track annoying at best.
Special Features (1 out of 5 stars)
When you hate a movie, it’s
painful to watch the special features.
In this case, I'm hoping that there is something that explains what the
actors saw in this project that made them sign on. Again, I'm disappointed and find no answers
in the following features:
- Photo Gallery - A collection of still shots from the movie. A pretty poor excuse for a special feature if you ask me.
- Inside the Making of American Loser - A featurette with interviews with actors, filmmakers and the real Jeff Nichols.
Final Thoughts (1 1/2 out of 5 stars)
Clearly I don't get this
movie. I'm missing any amount of charm
or comedy at all in this movie. It's a
film about a guy who was born with all the opportunities anyone could ask for,
screws up and is given chance after ridiculous chance to redeem himself. When he doesn't he just lucks into a somewhat
decent life. In the special features
they talk a lot about learning disabilities, and all the main elements are
real, but I just don't care. The movie
wasn't funny. It was just sad. I hated it so much I had to know what other
people think and I googled it. I saw
some people say that "if you like Seann William Scott you will like this movie." That anyone enjoyed this astounds me. My husband claims that Troll 2 is the worst movie ever made and I believe that he's
wrong, since it's clearly American Loser. My mother taught me that if I can't say
anything nice I shouldn't say anything at all....so here's the one nice thing I
have to say...Gretchen Mol isn't a bad singer.
Order your copy today!
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