Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
Directorial debut of John Krasinski.,Ryan: I'm aware of how all this sounds and can well imagine the judgments you're forming, but if I'm really to explain this to you then I have no choice but to be... candid.
[sighs]
Ryan: Yes, it was a pickup. Plain and simple. And she was what one might call a granola cruncher. A hippy. And she was straight out of Central casting: the sandals, flamboyantly long hair, financial support from parents she reviled, and some professed membership in an apostrophe-heavy Eastern religion that I defy anyone to pronounce correctly. Look, I'll just bite the political bullet and confess that I classified her as a strictly one-night objective. And that my interest in her was due almost entirely to the fact that yes, she was pretty. She was sexually attractive. She was sexy. And it was really nothing more complicated or noble than that. And having had some prior dealings with the cruncher genus, I think the one-night proviso was due to the grim unimaginability of having to talk with her for more than one night. Whether or not you approve, I think we can assume you understand. And there's something-I mean, near contempt in the way that you can casually saunter over to her blanket and create the sense of connection that will allow you to pick her up. And you almost resent the fact that it's so goddamn easy. I mean, how exploited you feel that it is so easy to get this type to regard you as a kindred soul. You almost know what's going to be said before she even opens her mouth.,Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Capitalism: A Love Story/Brief Interviews with Hideous Men/Coco Before Chanel/The Boys Are Back/Fame (2009),Walking into the cinema, I didn't know what to expect. I'd read David Foster Wallace's book years ago and I enjoy The Office (Particularly Krasinski's performance) but I was doubtful the two would be able to cross over successfully. While I certainly will say that I was wrong, there are quite a few flaws that the movie has. First off, certain aspects of the film felt undeveloped. From the book, I realized that she'd asked a question before each interview that we weren't able to hear, but in this for the uninitiated you were expected to rely on various lines scattered across the movie to solve it all. Secondly, Julianne Nicholson, while an interesting character felt undeveloped (Which I understand was the purpose of the movie, for her to be disconnected) but other than her, there weren't any other characters for the audience to grasp onto and truly connect with (One of the key rules of all movies: That you should allow the audience to quickly gain an emotional connection with the character from their back story and not simply rely on it from the point that they're the main character) Other than those minor viewpoints though, I must say that I was impressed with Krasinski's debut and with such a difficult source material he did a fine job and I have certainly gained respect for him. I would advise this movie perhaps for watching and re-watching in an attempt to understand the movie entirely and all of its little subtleties.,