Just got around to watching it for the first time tonight. We had so many people tell us we’d love it and need to watch it, so it was high on our list. Great cast, and it won so many awards.
I didn’t hate it, but I was left scratching my head over all the hype. I like odd movies and books, so it’s not that I couldn’t handle the weirdness. It seemed like in the same vein as Scott Pilgrim, and if you told me it wasn’t a bit box office but got a cult following, I’d totally believe that.
My wife felt exactly the same way. Maybe it’s just one of those cases where there was too much hype for us, but I felt kind of let down.
The best way to watch EEAAO is knowing nothing about it. Its never going to be what you expect and if you go in expecting too much, you’re likely to be disappointed. Sounds very much like the hype might be why you feel the way you do.
Personally, I love it because there is more than just weirdness to it. It manages to have quite deep and emotional moments that fit naturally amongst everything that is going on. For example:
spoilers
When Evelyn learns that breaking up with Waymond would have led to a ‘perfect’ life and the complexity of her feelings around that, only to be hit moments later by the gut-punch that Waymond would have been far more successful without her too. After that, how can she not regret the decision which led to them both being stuck doing laundry and taxes?
It’s this deeper side and the depth and realism of the characters that really elevate the movie for me and lead to me still thinking about it months later. That’s why it’s more than just a cult hit IMO, but you aren’t wrong if you disagree.
Yeah, I went in completely blind, having somehow dodged spoilers for a good year when I finally saw it upon its re-release in theaters for the Oscars campaign, and I left the theater thinking it was one of my favorite movies I’ve ever seen.
It’s absolutely not for everyone though, and there’s nothing wrong with that.