Main character is a loathsome creep
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liutenantsalt — 9 years ago(May 15, 2016 05:09 AM)
"Ultimus Americus"
And that is precisely what this pile of beep is; unthinking, stereotyping idiocy for brainless narcissists who desperately need to convince themselves that they're smarter than everyone else for being completely airheaded and detached from reality. -
eqdealerguy — 10 years ago(February 01, 2016 07:59 AM)
I thought this was overrated a decade ago. Good, but over the top. Overacted by Bening. Now? It all makes more sense.
Lester isn't perfect, and he isn't meant to be. He did realize sleeping with Angela was a terrible idea. He knew he wasn't a great father. But he did
try
to improve many parts of his life.
Carolyn? Cheated on Lester. Lester attempts to be decent to her, recalling their early daysand she responds by freaking out over the possibility of wine being spilled on the couch. She. Slaps. Her. Daughter. The problem with Carolyn is that she tried so hard to APPEAR perfect and normal, that she ends up being a poison to everyone. (Ex: She quotes Buddy Kane over and over, "In order to be successful,
one must project an image of success at all times
." Carolyn needs to see a shrink, not pretend she's doing fine. She had the neighbors' tree removed. She has the perfect garden; she tends to it ten times more than her family relationship.
Carolyn made things worse every time she tried. Zero awareness of other people. Watch her try to sell the house again. She has no idea how to truly interact with anyone.
Lester showed potential for learning from mistakes made. By the time of his death, he seemed to hold no grudges. His daughter was in love. He was happy.
In the end, Carolyn starts as a mess and ends as a mess. Lester goes from clinically depressedto happy. Isn't that the portion of the American Dream that eludes many people? Happiness? -
AllieMDA — 10 years ago(February 01, 2016 09:58 PM)
I thought this was overrated a decade ago.
I just flashed on a popular parody, of the kid calling the windy plastic bag beautiful. That was sort of the symbol of being pretentious. Now? I guess few people would get it. -
Lester_Burnham_Risen — 10 years ago(February 11, 2016 05:52 PM)
That was sort of the symbol of being
pretentious
.
It's the word pretentious that was pretentious and just now you are Carefully Taught by all those MS B type schoolteachers to say iconic.
For word of the month see Night's The Happening with the math
teacher
http://www.kindleflippages.com/ablog/ -
AllieMDA — 10 years ago(February 11, 2016 08:43 PM)
eqdealerguy:
Reading this post of yours, I recalled a favorite novel of mine: 'Jernigan' by David Gates.
Underrated, sadly unknown, written by a guy whose day job was an arts & entertainment critic.
The narrator, Pete Jernigan, is a horrible person but he knows he is a horrible person, berating himself but unable to quit, as he goes on about his life. Talk about self-loathing but somehow still compelling.
If you dislike obscure literary references you might not like it. But from what you write here, I think you might get a kick out of it.
Example:
"I guess it's a Catch-22"
Obnoxious guy (Jernigan himself): Something Happened.
"How did you know???"
This is one of the less-obscure. I'm sure I have not caught them all, and most likely never will, but it makes it all the more fun to re-read once in a while. (Especially since I was 16 when I first read the thing. I now have mixed feelings about giving this book to a teenager) You don't have to get the refs to appreciate the book but it does add to the enjoyment - bitingly satiric.
David Gates (not the musician). Jernigan, the novel. Remember!! I think it was first published in 1991. I wish more people knew this book. People who like American Beauty would like this. -
LukeLovesFilm28 — 10 years ago(February 11, 2016 02:34 PM)
This strange, petty hatred for men who like younger women is a very new phenomenon, created by SJWs to further condemn male sexuality as evil. We have 19 year old lesbians who are fighting for the ability to date their 16 year old girlfriends. That's ok but not when it's a male in love with a female. I mean, 20 years ago, everyone was totally accepting of old men marrying really young women.
And Lester is a human being. He is not a fcking robot, programmable to respond to everyone and everything, one way and one way only. And I wouldn't have him any other way. Who wants to watch a character that is morally perfect?? That sounds boring as hell to me. -
homerj2us — 9 years ago(August 13, 2016 12:42 AM)
@lukelovesfilm28
Jesus Christ, you're gross.
There's nothing wrong with old men marry young women if both parties are of consent. Forcing women into young marriage b/c they have no other choice is not progress.
You sound like you have no brain, just a cock to think with. Lester isn't 19he's 45, and the girl he changes his whole life to beep is a messed up girl his kid's age. -
cartesianthought — 10 years ago(March 15, 2016 09:06 AM)
With so many movies establishing their characters as role models and Mary Sues, it's important to understand that sometimes movies want to make flawed characters so the viewer can relate to their flaws. This is similar to what F Scott Fitzgerald did with The Great Gatsby.
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phoenixandrew — 9 years ago(April 18, 2016 08:55 PM)
hiitsmewutsup-953-300236 wrote:
"I used to love this as a kid, believe it or not. The characters were so lively in a sitcom-y way, but the addition of tits and profanity made it a little naughty- like an HBO original. I'm reading the script now, and I never realized what a repugnant little beep Lester is. So pompous, and smug about how enlightened he's become! That's what happens when you embrace your inner pedophile, I guess. As unsympathetic as Carolyn is, he is absolutely largely at fault for the dissolution of their marriage."
You just don't get it. You sound just as messed up as Carolyn and Jane. They were both the reasons for Lester's demise. At least Lester realized that making love to Angela was wrong and acted more like a father figure to her, something that Jane wouldn't allow her dad to do with her. Lester had the misfortune to live with an unloving family. -
Hythlodaeus — 9 years ago(April 20, 2016 09:30 AM)
Well, I turn 42 (same age as Lester) in a couple of months and at the time the film came out I was what 26? Well at 26 I was blown away by the movie because I could see how true it was. However, back then I was still happily married and back then I didn't see Carolyn at all in my wife (Or Styler from Breaking Bad).
The main character is a person caught in the currents of history. Men were not made to be broken and flabby working at desks (but we can't all be construction workers addicted to pain killers or the Marlboro man dying of cancer now can we?)
Lester was probably given the name Lester because it's like Hustler's character "Chester the Molester" but Lester is not a perv, he is just a regular guy having a hard time in life. Scientists are now proving that people go through various developmental periods - they now say (1) Adolescence (2) teens and 20s (3) 40s and (4) 70s where they grow and change.
Lester just is going through a self-reflective period that Carl Jung saw in his patients but he doesn't have anyone to help him figure it out so he struggles, but in the end he makes the right decision.
What hump? -
ruem-119-846172 — 9 years ago(January 22, 2017 08:24 PM)
beep Lester IS a beep pedophile. Get over it. And quit blaming WOMEN for his problems. His problems are his own and he can't own up to it because the truth is, he's a little BOY in a man's body. And given the entitlement afforded to straight, white men, he thinks that he SHOULD own whatsername's body, so he becomes his own chickenhawk. I'm GLAD he eats it in the movie. Men like that NEED to "walk toward the light", so to speak. And NO, old men marrying younger women is NOT totally ok..they see it as their privilege. They need to grow the beep up.
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liutenantsalt — 9 years ago(May 15, 2016 05:07 AM)
All the xharacters in this movie are laughable, unbelievable caricatures and cliches. This movie is nothing else than the Hollywood Regressive Elite looking down their collective noses at the middle class, or at least at some hysterically vilifying cartoon thereof.