Well, some of you may already know I wasn't that much impressed with this film. But I was talking about it on another board, when I suddenly realised why!
So I will copy that post here. I would be curious to hear your ideas about it. I know many people did like it a lot. So feel free to react or tell me your ideas about the film as well.
"For me the jokes weren't all that funny and James'character was just too nerdy to make it believable. His nerdyness was so over the top, he just lost all sexual appeal to me (and I already had a crush on the man before I watched it). He is completely demasculinised and turned into such a sad wanker, there is nothing those two (rather gorgeous) women he goes out with could have been attracted to.
So James is a great actor if he can act in such a way that would make a total hotty turn into a rather unappealing nerd, but the director should have at least made him a little less extreme if you ask me.
The problem here is that it all comes from a book that was written purely from the view of the main character. I haven't read the book, but I can image the person telling the story felt so insecure at university that he felt like he was this extremely nerdy and unappealing. However, in reality he probably wasn't half as bad as he thinks, because these women would have had no interest in him. So I guess in the book, the women's behaviour is an indication that he is way more insecure than he needs to be.
This works fine in a book, because you see reality solely through one persons eyes. Done the way it is in the film though, this doesn't work at all. Because here we see him BEING this horrible nerd and there is nothing that shows us this is mainly in his mind.
They would have to have shown us different character's points of view to be able to make that clear and they didn't do that. Or better, they should have made him at least try to act cool (thus attracting the women) but beings clumsy at the same time, which would have shown us his insecurity (which the women then could have found endearing).
That is what I felt was wrong with SfT
But it is all just my opinion. I have heard of lots of people that loved it, so don't go just by what I am saying. "
So I will copy that post here. I would be curious to hear your ideas about it. I know many people did like it a lot. So feel free to react or tell me your ideas about the film as well.
"For me the jokes weren't all that funny and James'character was just too nerdy to make it believable. His nerdyness was so over the top, he just lost all sexual appeal to me (and I already had a crush on the man before I watched it). He is completely demasculinised and turned into such a sad wanker, there is nothing those two (rather gorgeous) women he goes out with could have been attracted to.
So James is a great actor if he can act in such a way that would make a total hotty turn into a rather unappealing nerd, but the director should have at least made him a little less extreme if you ask me.
The problem here is that it all comes from a book that was written purely from the view of the main character. I haven't read the book, but I can image the person telling the story felt so insecure at university that he felt like he was this extremely nerdy and unappealing. However, in reality he probably wasn't half as bad as he thinks, because these women would have had no interest in him. So I guess in the book, the women's behaviour is an indication that he is way more insecure than he needs to be.
This works fine in a book, because you see reality solely through one persons eyes. Done the way it is in the film though, this doesn't work at all. Because here we see him BEING this horrible nerd and there is nothing that shows us this is mainly in his mind.
They would have to have shown us different character's points of view to be able to make that clear and they didn't do that. Or better, they should have made him at least try to act cool (thus attracting the women) but beings clumsy at the same time, which would have shown us his insecurity (which the women then could have found endearing).
That is what I felt was wrong with SfT
But it is all just my opinion. I have heard of lots of people that loved it, so don't go just by what I am saying. "
I mean he really
didn't look like he knew what he was doing when he was kissing the girls. And I think the over the top thing was to show that he was trying too hard to
get what he wanted, to be on the show, and to fit in. Here was this working class kid trying to fit in with these rich and smart kids. So, all in all, I
thought it was a cute little movie. 
. 
That HBO special was kinda short. Some bloopers or extended interviews
would have been awesome. 
