Every so often...

Hello, loyal fans of Scott's Not Even Remotely Helpful for Authors Blog!

Every so often, I drop in and post something rather... worthless. Seriously, there are bloggers that know all sorts of things about all sorts of things. Their blog posts are informative, thought-provoking, often entertaining.

Mine? Not so much.

OK. Now that the bar has been firmly lowered to the bottom-most notch...

Today I'm going to write a blog post about expectations, cleverly disguised as a movie review.

I watched the film "American Hero" with Stephen Dorff and Eddie Griffin. The IMDB page has it categorized as "action, comedy, drama."

WTF? Seriously, what does that sort of designation do to someone's expectations?

I think that's why the film was rather poorly reviewed. People were expecting one thing (or three things, or whatever), but what they got was simply drama.

Here's my take. It's a damn good movie. Well-acted, a good story, and beautifully crafted. Set in post-Katrina New Orleans, in one of those neighborhoods you'll never see in a movie about New Orleans, the filmmakers did an amazing job with their locations, set dressing, and casting. The movie is also filmed 'documentary style,' adding to the feeling that you truly are in a real place, with real people living real lives. You can sense the desolation, feel the oppressive humidity, smell the oil and exhaust. Everything is dirty, sticky, and in disrepair. But the people, oh the people! Genuine humanity, real emotion, real relationships (even the f*cked up ones). Melvin (Dorff) and Lucille (Griffin) have a wonderful rapport, and you feel each of their very personal struggles.

Is it comedy? No, despite having some really nice elements of humor.

Is it action? No. Melvin has telekinetic abilities and has a few run-ins with local gang members, but that's window dressing.

The real story is a very human drama. Melvin is an amazingly gifted person (and not just the telekinesis), but he struggles with depression, drugs, alcohol. His best friend Lucille desperately wants to help his friend, but is battling his own demons. Like I said, its a good, if simple, story that the actors tell in heartbreaking and heartwarming fashion.

So if someone is expecting action and comedy, they're in for a let-down.

See? Having the wrong expectations would do a pretty good job of ruining the experience for a lot of people.

So there's a chewy moral center in here somewhere...

... nope. I guess not. Anywho, it's a good movie. Rent it!

But first, adjust your expectations.