The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

M: This movie seems to evoke high emotions on both sides. Many I have talked to say they found it long and boring. Many critics loved it. I am on the fence. First, I like the character of Buttons. I thought he was well played, for the most part. Especially young (old) Buttons, who was endearing (When Brad Pitt emerged and the movie turned into a series of beauty shots, he wasn't so endearing). Here are a couple problems I had.

Warning, major spoiler alert.

First, Buttons started as a tiny old man with a baby mind. So he should have ended as a giant baby (like Mork and Mindy's man-baby).

Second, it made no sense that Buttons abandoned his wife and kids. After having been abandoned by his own father, and suffering from those scars, he should know better. His reasons for leaving? He didn't want his wife to have to care for him, and he wanted his daughter to have a grown-up (old) father. Well, his wife ended up caring for him in the end anyway, and his daughter would have had her own father, although young in body and old and wise in mind. (What's wrong with that?) Plus, by the time he was senile, his daughter was grown. Anyway, a tiny senile baby is easier to care for than a full grown senile person anyway, I would imagine. And any child would exchange knowing their father for caring for the father in old age. It seemed like a total cop out. Plus, Ms. Button found a new husband only to cheat on him later with Button. Why?!! I say.

Finally, I have a hard time rooting for characters that frequent prostitutes, and cheat on spouses.

Anyway, I could go on. Like I said, high emotions. And that is worth something. But in the end, this is a visually good looking movie that has no real soul and ultimatly, I think, no point. 2 1/2 stars.

V: What's the point? So it was an interesting concept: a man grows younger rather than older. Yeah it was interesting, but for a show that sure seemed to be trying to be profound, or make some point, I think it failed. They even stuck in this hummingbird twice - obviously symbolic of . . . well, of something, I guess. But you can't just shove things into a piece and say, "Look! a symbol! oooh, deep." So what of this hummingbird? Let's put our high school symbol decoding hats on. First stabs: It represents death, or rather LIFE, and how fleeting it can be, or maybe it's the spirit of someone who has died coming to comfort us when we face death, or when our friends died but we survived, or when we are about to die... Hmmmm. Yessss. Very deep. Something about time. Flying fast? Backward? Anyway, I didn't buy it. What about time? What about life? What about death? That it is? Or that it is (here it comes . . .) CURIOUS? Cinematography and makeup: excellent. Benjamin's mother: great. Felt a little like it was trying to be a Forrest Gump, but lacked the heart. Too pretty for a 2 (fair), too many problems for a 3 (good), so I agree with M: 2 1/2 stars.