The Writer's Poke

This is one of those movies I've never heard of, but I caught enough of a trailer for the film when watching another film on DVD that I thought I'd give it a watch. It also stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who I just watched and enjoyed in Don Jon (2013), so I was curious to see what he was up to in an earlier work.  When I first started watching, I noticed the artificial sound to the dialogue. No one talks like that. It's sort of like 21st century high school kids talking like 1940s gangsters. So, I listened a little bit more. Were they speaking in some sort of high school or generational slang that I wasn't used to? No, I don't think that's it. I think it was an intentional choice made by writer/director to have these high school kids sound like 1940s gangsters.  This choice doesn't work for me. I think it's a gimmick, and I wonder what the film would be like if they just talked normally. I have a feeling that maybe the story wouldn't be strong enough t...

"Scarlett! Look at me! I've loved you more than I've ever loved anyone and I've waited for you longer than I've ever waited for any woman." -- Rhett Butler, Gone with the Wind (1939) Jon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is not Rhett Butler, but once he sees Barbara (Scarlett Johansson) he's willing to wait. Even if that means waiting a whole month, which he technically does. During that period, he even agrees to do other things that Barbara suggests, such as taking a night class. She "rewards" him in the hallway outside her apartment, but as I say, technically, she forces him to wait a whole month.  (When Scarlett Johanson prepared for her role in this one, I feel like she watched a bunch of Fran Dresser "The Nanny" episodes and followed that up with a few Mariah Carey interviews when she's especially playing up her New York accent.  Other viewers have pointed out the accents, so I won't belabor the point... but man... are they meant to s...