Is it a masterpiece? No. Is it surprisingly original and fun given the tropey rom-com basis? Oh yes.
Jason Segel is so loveable and relatable, as always. Russell Brand is so hateable and plays his role unapologetically. And, Mila Kunis? Really good and believable in a way that holds up.
Biggest props to Jack McBrayer who has the best, most unexpected moments throughout. Honorable mention to Paul Rudd and to the vampire puppet musical
This movie does a lot of things for me, and does most of them very well.
The way it deals with Jackson's substance use and mental health feels very real and raw. The way his and Ally's backstories are revealed feels very organic. The music is (mostly) VERY good, and it's clear that real musicians had hands all over this, as all of the live performance scenes feel very authentic.
Bradley Cooper's voice and accent took me out of it…
Beautiful, meditative, unflinching.
Smoking is sexy again. Cars are sexy again. Love is sexy again.
Gaze into the darkest questioning corners of your soul.
The best 3-hour car commercial I've ever seen.
It's one thing to make a sequel 9 years later. It's another to make it every bit as beautiful and achingly honest, plus a maturity that fits the 9 year gap.
For me, this is a near-perfect movie AND series, a masterpiece that has moved me in different ways and meant different things as I've grown older. Julie Delpy is transcendent and tragic, arrestingly real and relatable. Ethan Hawke shines less but only because Delpy burns so brightly.
Pure humanity and pure magic.
