American Loser
June. 14,2007A dramatic comedy about a self-induced attention-deficit disordered, learning disabled, Tourette's syndrome suffering, balance impaired, ex-alcoholic young man from the Upper East Side of Manhattan and the gold-digging girl who inspires him to try to get it together.
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Reviews
Touches You
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional
One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
The story wasn't really straightforward (ie: it was a narrative of the character's screwed up life that didn't have a message or a lesson... at least not superficially), but the ride that you get to go on while watching it is really fun... especially because the actor is Seann William Scott, who (whom?) nobody expects anything good out of (b/c of all his mindless comedic roles), yet he totally owns the role... I was super happy to see the clips of the actual character (many apologies for not remembering his name, especially since he so fondly reminds me of the glorious negativity of Bill Hicks) during the credits.... That showed me the difference between the real person and SWS's portrayal, yet it it proved to me how well (do not read "accurately", only read "well", considering SWS is portraying the character dramatically, which almost always, as in this story, embellishes/exaggerates reality) SWS portrayed the character.
When I first saw this movie on IMDb I taught that it is surely going to be a shallow comic-drama with a nice faced actor. It started in that way too. But when I first saw the way the movie was going I started to feel sorry for Jeff. It does get boring from time to time (that's one minus star) and as much you feel sorry for the guy he starts to annoy you (another one). The plot seems quite unique and it also is a very hard theme for a movie so the director and the writing staff did a very good job. On the other side it could be done better.The final verdict is very positive. I must say that I have never seen Seann Williiam Scott in a similar role and he has proved that he is a very good actor he is definitely one of the pros of this movie. This movie gives you something to think about. I strongly recommend you watch it!
The movie directors made the viewer feel as if they identified with the main character's audience. It starts off in a comedy club and ends with it. The entire movie showcases and plays out his escapades, or rather errors and flaws, his "f" ups and how he perpetually turns to his mommy. It's constantly because of his inattention to detail and his constant desire to be heard and blabbering, that leads him to an inability to decide what is right for him. He can't even decide whether a yellow or white t shirt is better. He has endless idiosyncrasies, which include hating the word "balance," and they all make the audience, including his peers in all his AA meetings laugh. The ironic thing is he's a mentor to another b/c he's been sober for 10 years, and in the end, he's the one that is mentored. The movie comes full circle in the end, but I have to admit there will be times where you'll ask yourself, OMG, how could he do that? How could he possibly "f" that up? And watching the entire movie knowing that it was largely based upon real events from a real person, made me an array of different emotions that made this movie extremely enjoyable.
I saw this film at SIFF last night with my g/f and her mother.I didn't research the film at all, just looked at the description and gave it a go. So when the opening credits said it was a true story, i thought it was a joke. It wasn't.The movie itself moves along very well and the main character pushes the plot along with his "sharing" sessions in various 12-step meetings. He is ADD, alcoholic (recovering), has tourettes, and badly needs to be "liked". He can't keep a job and depends on his "Mommy" for emotional and financial support. Wholly self-absorbed, he is yet charming and innocent.There is a love interest in the plot, but it really doesn't come off as one of those forced Hollywood sub-plots added for mass appeal. The male and female leads are impressive, as is the whole cast (many recognizable actors). Not predictable, and as I learned after the film... even the most ridiculous events were indeed factual.I'd hate to compare this movie to anything, but I can't help but thinking of American Splendor (or Crumb). It's not quite as docu-drama as either of those two films, but the character (in real life and on screen) has very similar eccentricities.Don't know if it will be released nationwide, but will definitely be in the DVD (ugh) cult film section of your video store one day.