HOLY ROLLERS
2010
R
You can watch the trailer here
R
You can watch the trailer here
If you read my review for When in Rome, you'll remember that I said that the romantic comedy has become much to cliché. It's basically the same-old story wrapped in a different type of paper, theoretically bringing something new. In a sense, that's exactly what Holy Rollers does with the drug-trade story.
Sure, the movies about the drug trade do tend to vary a little more than your average romantic comedy, but in all fairness, there are a few more variables to consider. First, you have to pick your drug, be it marijuana, heroine, cocaine, or as is the case with Holy Rollers, ecstasy. Second, you have to pick your drug lord, whose nationality is usually directly related to your choice for option one. Third, you have to find an offbeat, seemingly lawful guy who gets swept up in the trade, hits it big then crashes and spirals to the end of the film. Not to be too disheartening, however, you have to give us a little ray of hope at the end because it would be horrible to leave the audiences depressed.
That was essentially the storyline for Holy Rollers, which was directed by Kevin Asch. But for all intents and purposes, I could have easily been describing 2001's Blow. What makes Holy Rollers a little different is that we have Hasidic Jews diving into the ecstasy trade. It's supposedly inspired by a true story, but nowadays, what movie isn't supposedly true?
The acting is good, but it's really nothing to rave about. Jesse Eisenberg does well as our lead, and he actually has a few good scenes (see: the ending), but overall it's pretty par for the course. You're better off seeing him in The Social Network, also a movie about an extremely commonly-used and highly addictive drug called Facebook. Ari Graynor also has a few good scenes in limited screentime.
Overall, it's nothing I've never seen before. Sure, the twist is interesting, but it didn't do enough to captivate my interest. Sadly, Holy Rollers commits the worst atrocity a movie can commit: it's just flat-out boring.
Sure, the movies about the drug trade do tend to vary a little more than your average romantic comedy, but in all fairness, there are a few more variables to consider. First, you have to pick your drug, be it marijuana, heroine, cocaine, or as is the case with Holy Rollers, ecstasy. Second, you have to pick your drug lord, whose nationality is usually directly related to your choice for option one. Third, you have to find an offbeat, seemingly lawful guy who gets swept up in the trade, hits it big then crashes and spirals to the end of the film. Not to be too disheartening, however, you have to give us a little ray of hope at the end because it would be horrible to leave the audiences depressed.
That was essentially the storyline for Holy Rollers, which was directed by Kevin Asch. But for all intents and purposes, I could have easily been describing 2001's Blow. What makes Holy Rollers a little different is that we have Hasidic Jews diving into the ecstasy trade. It's supposedly inspired by a true story, but nowadays, what movie isn't supposedly true?
The acting is good, but it's really nothing to rave about. Jesse Eisenberg does well as our lead, and he actually has a few good scenes (see: the ending), but overall it's pretty par for the course. You're better off seeing him in The Social Network, also a movie about an extremely commonly-used and highly addictive drug called Facebook. Ari Graynor also has a few good scenes in limited screentime.
Overall, it's nothing I've never seen before. Sure, the twist is interesting, but it didn't do enough to captivate my interest. Sadly, Holy Rollers commits the worst atrocity a movie can commit: it's just flat-out boring.
Movie Review Summary:
Grade: D
Thumb... Down
Grade: D
Thumb... Down
No comments:
Post a Comment