Actually that's not even correct, because I didn't even
allow myself to think about it while I was watching. But now I'm
bored, so I'll think about it, and I'm going to wind up getting very
angry.
allow myself to think about it while I was watching. But now I'm
bored, so I'll think about it, and I'm going to wind up getting very
angry.
List of Cliched Characters:
- Claire Daines's character (who we'll call Claire, because there's no way I'm going to look it up)
- She is unhappy with her life. Why is she unhappy?
Because there's only two things that can make a human being happy: a
"fullfilling" job, and a mate. And she has neither. And this makes
her sad. - The guy from I heart Huckabees' character (aka Huckabee)
- Starts out "bad", but winds up "good". His bad
qualities have to be superficial and minor or else the viewer will
won't root for Claire to wind up with him. But if he starts out as
"good", the viewer will dislike Claire for not choosing him originally. - The Steve Martin character
- Steve is a rich older guy who kind of stalks Claire at
the beginning, but because he's rich, it's ok. Again, he has to be
"good" enough to not be disliked by the viewer, but empty enough so
that the viewer doesn't get confused into rooting for him. - Other female characters
- Must be worthless so that we can really really see how
super awesome Claire is. One empty woman seduces Steve. The other
accidently sleeps w/ Huckabees.
Lazy Character Development
- Claire may just be some girl in a shop, but she has big
dreams...that involve art. The easiest and laziest way to make a
mundane character unique is to say they are an artist. She's not
weird, she's artsy! And oh yeah, Huckabee is an artist too! His
medium is fonts, and he winds up getting the fonts tattooed on
himself. He so crazy. - Huckabee's bad qualities are that he's messy, unkept,
cheap, broke, un gentlemanlike. Then he spends a summer reading some
books on relationships and improves. Seriously, that's their idea of
deep growth. He starts out wearing indie-esque tshirts and winds up
wearing indie-esque tshirts with a blazer over it. He owns a crappy
car at the beginning, and drives a nice car at the end. His apartment
is clean at the end. And when he leaves a voicemail for Claire, he
literally reads a line from one of those relationship books. But it's
not his fault....he is from Mars after all. - Some radio talk show discusses how women are happier when
they are with someone than when they are alone...even if it's with a
guy they don't particularly care for. Claire takes this sage advice
and gives Huckabee a second chance. - Steve is a stalker who chooses Claire based solely on
looks, but it's ok because he's rich. How long he had been watching
her is unclear, but his first interation with her is when he buys her
the very same gloves that she's selling. Then he finds out where
she's living and sends them to her. Creepy. He's good at giving her
things (a wad of cash to pay off her loans, dresses, etc.) but he's
incapable of giving Claire himself. And since showing us his
emotional walls would be too complex, we instead told of
these walls by both Claire and Steve. Claire would occasionally start
a sentence with "I know you have a hard time letting me in, but..." and
then at the end, Steve says something about not being able to open
himself up to her. Blah blah blah. All I saw when I watched the
movie was a rich guy who liked the stress free lifestyle of a casual
relationship. - But wait, the realtionship became "real" when we learn
that Claire suffers from depression and went off her meds. Steve
shows concern and helps her. This is what qualifies as character
development in the movie. - I can't do this. She winds up becoming an artist and getting the man and being happy. The end.
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