Great movie, more theatrical than cinematic

Author: imdb-5032 from amsterdam
15 December 2004

A touching movie about friendship and dependency viewed through the distorting lens of rampant nihilism. There's a theatrical eloquence to the dialogue that lends it mesmerizing power. It has a literary quality that some people will find unbearably pretentious, but which I found deeply moving.

The movie starts out with a fast paced barrage of hilarious absurdities. As it gets slower and more ponderous it sometimes veers off course, but in a sense this just deepens the sense of human frailty. Similarly the somewhat grasping conclusion does not significantly detract fromthe film's main thrust.

Acting by Kevin Spacey, Sean Penn and Garry Shandling is absolutely top notch. Chazz Palminteri isn't always as convincing(peux pas l'encaisser). Excellent showing by Meg Ryan.