Maynard Handley IMDb's intro to this movie starts "Ted, a stuffy white guy from Illinois working in sales", and there, right away, we have the problem. If you're an arrested child, who thinks that the idea of working in sales equals death, and that considering the consequences of your actions equals "stuffy", then I expect you will hate this film. But for the rest of us, it's a breath of fresh air. Other people have said what's appealing about it --- the unexpected zigs and zags of the story, the amusing (though not laugh-out-loud funny) dialog, the portrayal of a dynamic between two guys that's touching without ever being cloying. But for me what I enjoyed was the (depressingly rare) chance to see people acting as adults. It is nice to see someone who takes their job seriously and tries hard to do well at it, rather than concentrating all his energy on goofing off and avoiding the boss. (This goes for both Fred and Ted.) It's nice to see people thinking seriously about what is and is not working in their romantic lives and how to fix it. It's nice to see people not relying on ridiculous clichés about fate and destiny as the solutions to all their problems. Meanwhile, on the other side, it's nice to see all this seriousness but in a movie populated by basically decent people, people you don't hate, in a movie that isn't ramming some sort of absurdly non-subtle message down your throat ala most indie cinema. I'm pretty impatient with movies. I'd say 70% of the movies I watch, after 10 minutes I switch it off because the movie has in no way captured my interest. I haven't laughed, I haven't been surprised, all I've seen is the same old **** I've seen a million times before. Maybe it's the husband and wife fighting with each other. Maybe it's the "those were the days" kids playing. Maybe it's the nerdish guy being belittled by other people at work. You know what I mean --- five minutes into the movie and you know the stereotypes every character fits, and exactly how it will all play out. What so appealed to me about this movie is how (without "twists" or gimmicks) it doesn't follow that path. The primary characters kept growing and revealing new aspects to their characters throughout the movie in a way that's all too rare. Give it a chance!

paikia I noticed this movie has quite a lot of reviews here, some really positive, some really negative. Unfortunately, I'm siding with the negatives on this one.It took me quite the effort to be patient and watch this movie all the (boring and tedious) way to the end, only to feel it ended up being a waste of time. I'm usually fond of drama movies and TV shows, but this one just seemed shallow and uninteresting. I couldn't get myself to give a sh!t about any of the characters or their stories, as there was nothing for me to relate to. I kept getting annoyed at the behavior of the two main characters, not being able to really figure them out. Some of the positive reviews I read here reminded me of the story of the Emperor's New Clothes, feeling that if it wasn't for the variety of individual tastes, I'd be one of the kids who would shout that the emperor was naked. But then again, can't argue with taste, so I can only express my own opinion here, which may or may not be similar to what anyone else is thinking.My bottom line here, is that after reading some of the reviews and watching the movie myself, it's obviously not for everyone. Personally I hated it, but that might be just me. :)

jimmydebney Stillman should make more films definitely. This was a profound film that showed the remarkable decorum that Americans had to face in Barcelona in the mid-80's. Phenomenal acting by Chris and Taylor. I was also blown away by Mira Sorvino's performance - never guessed that she was an American the first time I saw this film. She's that good.Terrific locale - how can anything beat Barcelona? This is a film, like Metropolitan, that you watch over and over and never get tired of it.30 minutes goes by, an hour, and you're still never bored. You wish the film would go on and on.It's a really shame that talented directors like Stillman can't make movies while the most unbelievably shallow filmmakers continue to bring society down another notch.

freeskate The casting director for this movie should never be allowed to work again. Sadly, the acting in this movie was so pedestrian that it was hard to even care about whatever story there was. Couldn't they find any better actors than this crew? It think they didn't try very hard.Mira Sorvino, probably the only name familiar to most folks, is absolutely awful in this movie. The rest of the not-household names range from barely okay to embarrassing.Really people, if somebody gives you a chunk of money to make a film you care passionately about, hire some good actors. There are plenty of them around, including lots of amazing talents who will work for minimum.