Godawful

Author: bob_bear from Germany
14 October 2012
 

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

First off, let me make it clear that I have no problem with people taking a pop at Tele-evangelists or the dolts who are conned by them. They are ripe for satire and justifiably so. But this film does nobody a service.

If you ever needed confirmation that Pierce Brosnan couldn't act his way out of a paper bag then look no further. He is truly, truly terrible. His accent fluctuates between the Queen's English, Australian and Sarf London with no rhyme or reason. In the ill-fitting role of Charismatic Church Leader, he comes across as so insincere, so fake that not even the most rabid creationist would buy it. He is, in a word, awful.

But not just Mr Brosnon, no. Everybody is unsympathetic. Gregg Kinnear acts like he dropped one tablet too many somewhere along the line and I didn't give a toss about his plight. There was no one to care about here and no lucid ambition in the storytelling.

Synopsis: Tele-evangelist tries to frame bird-brain follower and fails. The end.

What was the point?!

2 out of 5 people found the following review useful:

Good idea, competent plotting, poor direction, miscast leads. Misfire on most cylinders.

Author: BOUF from Australia
10 November 2012

I hate to state the obvious but Pierce Brosnan isn't funny. He may be very talented at all kinds of other genres, but in this film he seems to constantly choose the non-funny way of playing every scene . Jennifer Connelly ditto, but she probably knows she's not funny. Greg Kinnear is wont to be superficial, but when he is well directed he can be amusing. Here he has very little to work with, character-wise, and is irritatingly dull. There are so many sequences in this film that could be funny, but aren't, due to a combination of casting and direction. It's a film full of unrealised potential. Marisa Tomei, actually seems to have an idea of who her character is, and in her lamentably scant appearances is convincing and winning. She wrung a few laughs out of me, because she is almost director-proof. Ciaran Hinds, similarly, almost works. I did keep watching because the plotting is well wrought. In other words: I wanted to see what would happen next. BUT Comedy is just about the toughest gig to pull off. It needs an experienced comedy director and leads who are funny. Stop wasting money!

Black comedy without the comedy

Author: SnoopyStyle
6 February 2014

Carl Vanderveer (Greg Kinnear) used to be a Deadhead, and now is a follower of a charismatic church leader Dan Day (Pierce Brosnan). After a debate with atheist Peter Blaylock (Ed Harris), he invites Dan and Carl back home to pitch his idea of joining up to co-author a book. However, Dan accidentally shoots Peter and tries to frame it as a suicide. Then Dan tries to frame Carl as the shooter.

This is a black comedy without the comedy. Greg Kinnear may not be a good comedic lead if George Ratliff is aiming for funny. He is constantly taking shots at fundamental Christians, but it never really sticks. As a satire, this is a struggle to find any humor. Everybody is trying desperately to be outrageous especially Jennifer Connelly, but they do it without a clue of how to make it funny.

0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:

Bomb that had potential

Author: vincentlynch-moonoi from United States
23 July 2013

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I didn't really know anything about this film when I sat down to watch it. And it started off well, with an over-the-top evangelist (Pierce Brosnan) debating an atheist (Ed Harris). I settled back in my chair and listened to their short debate and thought the film showed promise. Then it alternatingly got a little foolish or a little serious, and frankly, it was when segments were more serious that the film shined. But then another comedy/satire scene would come on, and it would all fall apart. When I read about the film and realized what a flop it had been I questioned whether I wanted to finish watching it. I did, but...

So, in the first part of the movie the evangelist accidentally shoots the atheist in the head with a Civil War pistol...first, but not the last bit of silliness. It mostly went downhill from there.

The sad thing is that this film had a decent cast. I remember Pierce Brosnan from way back in 1981 in the miniseries "Manions of America", and I thought that there is an actor to watch. I've since been more disappointed than impressed, although every once in a while he has managed an impressive performance...this is not one of them, although the role of a powerful leader of a mega-church certainly held promise. Greg Kinnear has often impressed me, although considering his beginnings on "Talk Soup", that surprised me. Again, this was not one of his performances -- as an ex-Deadhead and member of the mega-church -- that impressed me. I'm not familiar with Jennifer Connelly, and also not impressed in terms of this performance. I often enjoy performances of Marisa Tomei, and I feel she is an underrated actress. This casting of her was abominable...as a pot-smoking campus security guard. Ed Harris is not usually one of my favorites, although I concede he's a fine actor. And here I really enjoyed him; too bad he had so little screen time as the atheist. Jim Gaffigan as a worker in the mega-church...please Satan, deliver me from any more of his screen work. Ciarán Hinds...now, here is a character actor I only recently discovered, and he's always impressed me...as he does here as the father-in-law of Kinnear. Yul Vazquez as a Mexican crime lord...well, okay.

Bottom line -- this film might have had a chance as a straight drama. But as a comedy/satire it was a disaster.

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:

Turned out to be rather nice actually...

Author: Paul Magne Haakonsen from Denmark
26 August 2013

How you enjoy (or lack thereof), I suppose, is determined by your view on religion in a way.

The story in "Salvation Boulevard" is about Carl (played by Greg Kinnear) who witnesses the accidental shooting of author and non-believer Peter Blaylock (played by Ed Harris) by the hand of pastor Dan Day (played by Pierce Brosnan). The pastor tries to cover up the accident by making it look like a suicide, and when Carl becomes a liability, the pastor frames Carl for the incident and goes to great lengths to see him removed from the equation.

Actually the story was quite good, it was nicely told and had just the right amount of comedy to it without becoming too much. The laughs that were here in the movie were really nicely earned and well placed. Director George Ratliff managed to put together a rather nicely told movie here.

However, what really carried the movie was the performances put on by the people on the cast list; the actors and actresses really did nice jobs with their characters. And these characters were really nicely detailed, nicely fleshed out and portrayed in manners that made them come off as characters the audience can relate to. I initially sat down to watch this movie because I enjoy the work of Jennifer Connelly, although her role in this movie was only a supporting one.

If you are looking for comedies that will cause you to laugh until tear trickle down your cheeks, then "Salvation Boulevard" might not be the best of choices. But, however, if you enjoy a light-hearted drama that is spiced up with some comedy and great acting performances, then by all means, sit down and watch "Salvation Boulevard".