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The Lookout
Movie Stats & Links |
| Starring: |
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff
Daniels, Matthew Goode, Isla Fisher, Carla Gugino |
| MPAA Rated: |
R |
| Released By: |
Miramax |
| Web Site: |
thelookout-movie.com |
| Kiddie Movie: |
Better leave them
with the sitter. |
| Date Movie: |
If she likes an
intelligent kind of film. |
| Gratuitous Sex: |
No frontal nudity,
but there's some getting it on. |
| Gratuitous
Violence: |
Some decent
quality kills. |
| Action: |
No chasing here. |
| Laughs: |
A chuckle or two. |
| Memorable
Scene: |
It did look pretty
cool driving at night, with your lights off, in a sea of
lightning bugs. |
| Memorable
Quote: |
"Am I dead?" |
| Directed By: |
Scott Frank |
| Produced By: |
Walter F. Parkes,
Laurence Mark, Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber |
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The Lookout
A Movie Review |
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Just the other day I stumbled upon "10 Things I Hate
About You" on cable and I wondered about two of the
characters. One was Bianca, played by Larisa Oleynik, and
the other was Cameron, played by Joseph Gorden-Levitt.
IMDBing them I found that Larisa’s career has been a little
spotty, with some TV work and small-budget films. Joseph’s
credits made me remember his stint on "3rd Rock
from the Sun," but film-wise, he’s pretty much been
following the same path. Then I saw a trailer for "The
Lookout" and say to myself, "Self, that’s that dude from ’10
Things I Hate About You.’ I wonder if his acting has
improved with age?" I’ll tell you what; in "The Lookout" he
was great.
This review will be a little tricky because I don’t want
to give too many things away, especially for a movie as
entertaining as this one. Here’s some of the basics…
Joseph Gorden-Levitt plays Chris Pratt. Chris was the
shit in high school. His parents were loaded, he’s got the
hot girlfriend, he kicks ass in sports, and he is pretty
much set for life. Then his life takes a tragic turn as a
car accident kills a couple of his friends, but more
importantly for this movie, leaves him with brain damage
that causes him to easily forget the simplest of things. To
combat this Chris uses a little notebook to help him
remember things from day to day, like appointments he might
have, or names of people he has met, or pick-up lines at
bars. Chris is still able to
function, though. He drives a car, stops at a local bar, and is
holding down a job as the night janitor at a small-town bank
where his hopes turn to one day when he might get a bank
teller position. But he also needs some help sometimes,
especially with making dinner (it’s hard to open a can when
you can’t remember you have an electric can-opener on the
counter). There to help him is his friend, Lewis (Jeff
Daniels). Lewis is sort of a wise-ass at times, and is
blind.
Then one day Gary (Matthew Goode) comes into Chris’ life,
and begins to get into Chris’ head. A lot of manipulation is
starting to take place, complete with setting Chris up with
a "girlfriend," Isla Fisher as Luvlee Lemons, and yes,
Luvlee Lemons is her stripper name and she doesn’t dance
anymore, or so she says, but she does have sex with Chris.
Getting laid aside, Gary works to convince Chris that his
life could be so much better with one thing – money, and he
could help Chris get some money if Chris would only help
Gary rob the bank that Chris works at.
So as to not spoil anything else in this movie I will
leave the story synopsis at that because mentioning just
about anything else might tip you off to some of the
fantastic twists and turns
that aren’t totally preposterous, character development that
builds nicely, or just ruin something as simple as the
importance of a shoelace (I don't think that ruins anything,
though).
On just about every level "The Lookout" works, from
Chris’ mental disability, to Lewis not being able to see, to
Gary being a bad man (and it took me a long time to realize
that Gary is the same dude from "Chasing Liberty"), to the
shoot-outs, to the sex, and to Chris’ family. There are
twists, turns, and even a couple of laughs.
If you are looking for a generic, bombastic bank heist
movie with lots of violence and sex, this movie isn’t it. If
you are looking for a fascinating movie where you might
actually have to think, that also happens to involve a bank
heist with lots of violence and some sex, "The Lookout" will
be great. For me I loved it, and it’s 5 stars out of 5, but
I can understand if this movie isn’t your cup of tea so I’m
sorry if you go to this movie on my recommendation and don’t
like it.
That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!!
L8R!!! |
