On the Rocks

4/10 - maybe my taste is just too low brow, but this movie ended without anything worthwhile happening, leaving me unfulfilled and feeling robbed of my time

I couldn't disagree more with the bad reviews.This is a quiet film about a woman losing herself in her various roles as mother, wife, daughter, writer. It is also about communication (much like Lost in translation) and misunderstanding, about growing up and finding the confidence to define oneself as a woman apart from your father's shadow. In the end it is about love and relationships (also New York looks great). This is not a shallow film as some would have it, it is just not pretentious or full of pseudo-intellectual dialogue like most Baumbach or Ethan Hawke films. It's light -weight, real, tender and feminine and we need more of these. You can always rely on Bill Murray's charisma but Rashida Jones' sensitive performance is still the focus here.

Sofia Coppola teams up with Bill Murray for the first time since their 2003 masterpiece. The film has him leading his daughter around NYC on a mission to catch her husband having an affair. It all feels very slight -- like a caper comedy about rich people problems. Murray's charisma carries the bulk of the running time, and there are some good scenes. However, it lacks any and all profundity... settling for mild chuckles and forgoing the sting in the tail that the film so desperately needed.

Previews are better than the movie, with the ending a complete letdown after what seemed like three hours of nothing. Murray's character is cliche. The womanizer who knows everyone, or relative of, thus talking himself through every situation, makes the movie lack any sense urgency or conflict. The only conflict is whether Wayans is cheating or not. In the end, there's zero fallout from a wasted agenda. Unless you love these actors when they're not funny, skip it. Wayans, Jones, Murray and Coppola are so much better than this money grab.

Bill Murray was charming and seemed completely natural. The father/daughter relationship was touching. I would definitely recommend this movie when you are ready for a character driven story instead of a super hero CGI movie.