Just what I expected

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

This film manages to capture some of the magic of the John Hughes 80's without being a complete re-hash. Most amazing is the well-rounded nature of the group cast. You get a picture of each of these people's lives. Hughes' movies always had an undercurrent of drama, pain and misfortune. The director/writer was at the screening I saw (at KIFF) and said the movie was loosely based on an 80's party she threw.I felt that the movie did a great job of being nostalgic without going overboard, pulling in the anxiety of thirty-somethings who grew up on those 80's classics, and ends with you feeling strangely connected to the whole group. This party could happen in your house tonight, and along with it a good, if a little painful sometimes look back, and, by its conclusion, a realistic look at the ahead.Hope this gets distributed to more screens so more people can enjoy it themselves. Penis pirate for life! -D

This film is hilarious. I saw it at the Sonoma Valley Film Festival, and the audience was laughing all the way through. The casting was excellent, which led to a totally believable ensemble that gave the script an authentic rendering. One felt as if they were at the party, as if it was a real enactment of a great weekend in one's life - you know, a party that actually reveals some important "lessons" in life. The screenplay was honest and direct, fast-paced and layered. I was especially impressed by the first-time director, who also wrote the script. She has a talent for crafting the plot so that there is a lot going on without losing the cohesion of the story, and bringing in cameos that added even more enjoyment. The title may need to be rethought, but thats relatively easy. Maybe just "Lather" will do, because thats the feeling that I got, that yummy moment in the shower when the lather is all whipped up and feels so good.

This movie inevitably will be compared with The Big Chill, and that's okay. The Lather Effect is funny and poignant, and explores a lot of themes that are common to most people in their thirties regardless of when they grew up. I saw it when it played at South by Southwest, where it was well-received by the audience, who laughed and cheered in all the right places.Valinda (Friday Night Light's Connie Britton) throws one last "rager" at her parents' house on the weekend before it is to be sold. The party's theme was "Come As You Were," so everyone was dressed in Eighties costumes, but along with their memories they also brought their unresolved issues from their teen years, as well as their adult fears about the future. On the morning after the party, the house is a huge mess that Valinda and her circle of friends have to clean up. In the process, long-buried secrets are revealed and old wounds are opened. The characters begin to come to terms with how their pasts affected the present, and contemplate the future.The cast is excellent. Connie Britton carries the movie well, and Eric Stoltz steals many scenes as the slightly-older guy who used to crash every party when they were teens, in what feels like a reprisal of his cameo in Say Anything (minus the chicken suit). The soundtrack is great as well -- when can I buy the CD?

While I found this movie to be at times somewhat entertaining, I felt it lacked any sort of originality or soul. One reviewer called it "John Hughes for the 36ish crowd" which is a fairly good description, except for one thing: The reason 16 candles, pretty in pink, etc. are fun, classic movies is because they represent the actual angst-ridden, dramatic, and totally ridiculous times that is youth for most people in a way that is both easy to relate to and fun to watch. This movie, I feel just takes a bunch of older people and makes them act like teenagers as a way of "taking you back." But honestly, who still acts like they're 17 when they're in fact 36? Nobody I'd want to know or could relate to. The dialogue is neither original nor believable and the amount of things going on between this group of friends is just absurd. And the characters are just lame as well. Of course there's the wise old hippy guys who gets the hot girl in the end (by showing she's more than just a hot girl), the popular couple who haven't hashed our their real feelings all these years later, the asshole dork friend who screwed everyone over, etc. It's just so formula it's sad. But even I will partake in something so sinfully bad from time to time, so I can't say I hated it, but I really don't understand all the praise it's getting thus far. It's a good effort, but the end result lacks anything really worth watching if you're over the age of 15.