Movie Review: Cyrus (2010)
A good film, but I can't help but have my hangups with it
Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures
My first time watching Cyrus was following a trip that started in Nice, went through Amsterdam and finally found my feet on American soil in Seattle 26-hours later. Three hours after landing I was in a movie theater — not exactly ideal conditions. However, I came out liking the film, but felt a second viewing was in order, if only to flesh out my opinion, a decision I'm glad I made. As it turns out, I still liked Cyrus the second time around, just not as much as I did originally, and for very specific reasons.
The cast includes Marisa Tomei, John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, Catherine Keener, Matt Walsh and Katie Aselton. For more information on this film including pictures, trailers and a detailed synopsis choose from the following menu.
Review
"Cyrus" is a Fox Searchlight Pictures release, directed by Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass and is rated R for language and some sexual material. The running time is 1 hour 32 minutes.
Following a series of awkward and failed introductions, John has one more in store as he decides peeing in the host's bushes is the best thing to do. This is where he's caught by Molly (Marisa Tomei) quite literally with his pants down. Molly admits to overhearing one of his earlier flirtations and calls them "real" and "honest" and she respects him for it. To which this self-described "Shrek" of a man decides instead of talking further with the beautiful woman in front of him, he'll rush off to embarrass himself again by singing over Human League's "Don't You Want Me". While others at the party look on, John stumbles drunkenly around the living room singing at the top of his lungs until he's saved by Molly joining him and a bond is made. Things appear perfect, but their blossoming relationship hits a speed bump once John meets Cyrus (Jonah Hill), Molly's 21-year-old shut-in of a son, which is when I begin questioning the film's intentions.
The second time around I had a hard time differentiating between what is comedy and what is drama. I mentioned Cyrus is "sold as a comedy" earlier, because that is exactly what the studio is trying to push, but I have a hard time looking at a massively overweight, 21-year-old shut-in with some serious social issues as funny. It's in fact quite sad. This opinion, however, comes as a result of seeing the film a second time. The first time around I didn't realize the complexity of his condition and laughed at the dysfunctional man-child in front of me. Having already seen it, I knew where the narrative was going and the same amount of laughter just wasn't in me.
Much of Cyrus centers on honesty in relationships. Mumblecore features are dependent on feelings of reality, yet the film is just as duplicitous as Cyrus is toward John. Is it intentional? There's a lot of heart found in Cyrus, much of it coming from John C. Reilly who plays a good guy with a kind heart and more patience than most of us would ever display (once Cyrus walks into the bathroom to pee while Molly is in the shower I would have been out of there). Marisa Tomei and Jonah Hill also deliver great performances, it's where the narrative is a bit fraudulent that the film loses a lot of its comedy. For these reasons I can't help but wonder if this is a comedy, a sad sack drama or what exactly.
Film's don't need to fit nicely into one genre or another, but I shouldn't have this much trouble trying to categorize it for myself at the very least. As much as I did enjoy a lot of this film, I must also admit it also left me mildly frustrated. Art should challenge us, but I can't help but wonder if that was ever the Duplass brothers' intention. Ideally, critics would write reviews after seeing films more than once all the time, but in this case it actually left me with more questions than answers. At the very least, this is a lot more than I can say about most of the other films this year.
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Whoa, not one comment? That's weird. I just finished watching this movie and I couldn't help but not like it. You said the first time around you laughed, but I didn't muster a giggle.
The movie was certainly not a comedy, but it wasn't that interesting either. John's character is ridiculous and Jonah's character is even more ridiculous. They're not dysfunctional in a funny way (i.e. Zack Galifianakis in The Hangover) or even in an annoying way (i.e. Steve Carrell in Dinner for Schmucks). These guys were just plain stupid and not the least bit interesting.
Also, the movie states that Molly and John fall in love, but you never feel it. You never notice the moment they fall in love. How could you? The movie is so focused on the relationship between Cyrus and John that it forgets to show us when Molly and John actually connect at that level. And I think its a big omission, because the end is completely based around Molly and John's relationship.
The movie was a big cliché if there ever was one and I couldn't help but NOT want to watch it a second time.
I'd give it a C.
P.S. You accidentally placed an apostrophe in the word "films" (first word, last paragraph).