User reviews

TWO DAYS (US, 2003)

Director: Sean McGinley Starring: Paul Rudd, Donal Logue

I caught this movie on cable by accident and it managed to surprise me. It places Paul Rudd as a failing actor named Paul Miller who, having decided to commit suicide, hires a film crew to document his last days. A depressing subject, but handled beautifully.

In the beginning, we are unsure if Paul is joking or not. He constantly whines about his life, yet from the friends who are interviewed in the documentary within the film, we feel that he may be doing it for the attention. At least they think so. The crew goes from best friend to ex fling to ex girlfriend to his agent, each trying to convince him not to do it, and each time he seems to soften up a little to the idea of life. After each visit, the crew asks if he still wants to kill himself. He seems not to be fazed.

Why would someone want to film himself in his last days, culminating in his death (which would label the doc a snuff movie)? It's almost as if he wants them to talk him out of it, although throughout the film he simply shrugs and says to his new buddies with the cameras "I'm still doing it." And why not? We learn that his agent won't return his calls, neither will his successful actor friend who suddenly invites him to work with him. Also, in a fantastically touching scene where Paul demonstrates his acting ability (and a revelation from Paul Rudd as well) we can see how frustrated he has become. He IS incredibly talented, yet still no joy. Soon the crew members are rooting for him, they become his best friends after a period of only two days. This is as much a comedy as a drama and until seeing the film, it's hard to see how, but it is there. In the final scenes where Paul has to make his major decision, we are not treated to atmospheric music or flashy jump cutting that any mainstream film may use to create the right intensity. Instead the finale relies solely on Rudd's excellent performance and the alternating between the film stock and the video footage used by the documentary crew.

Having said all that, there are some minor quibbles. In the film's midsection, it drags as dialogue is repeated as the structure of the first act recurs in the second. The filmmakers are trying to make the point that no matter how many people try to talk him out of it, he's not budging, but we got that, we understand without it, so it just seems like padding. That and a pointless subplot involving a relationship between Stu the producer's girlfriend and the sound man are a tad out of place and not in keeping with the story. In some films you need these subplots, maybe for comic relief or to set up plot devices for later on. This film is not one of them. That and Stu the producer gets on your nerves after a while. However, the acting is superb, especially from Rudd who really sinks his teeth into the role, the kind he hardly ever gets, and the direction is skilfully handled switching between what we see and what the documentary crew sees through their cameras. An engaging little indie flick.

I really enjoyed the cast of this film. Paul Rudd was really good. I usually see him as a funny guy, but he acted more dramatic in this film and he was pretty good. There was one scene towards the end that really got to me and I didn't know Paul Rudd could act like that. The film had an interesting story line. It is about a man who wants to kill himself and he has some of his friends video tape it like a documentary. The only problem with this film was that it seemed too boring at times. Like there was not much going on. Some of the characters personalities made up for it at points, but not all the time. Adam Scott was pretty funny as his character. His outfits were probably the best. So overall, it was a decent film. I just wanted to see more to it.

To start, the only complaint I have with this film was its length. Too short. Plain & simple, I wanted more. The acting was superb, the character development was anything but weak, despite what some skeptics may say, and the writing was dead on. I was most impressed with Paul Rudd's performance, but that's no surprise. He is an incredible actor with more talent in his pinky than most A-list hacks put together. He deserves so much credit & critical acclaim, but is generally relegated to character roles and cameos. Then again, who says character acting is such a bad thing. That is where many of the greatest performances come out.

Also, I could have done without the sidestory of Jennifer & the sound guy. Interesting, but not necessary.

And nomatter how some may speculate, I am a sap for happy endings and I don't believe he kills himself in the ocean. Just like I don't believe that Christian Bale drowns himself in the pool in Laurel Canyon.

I won't say that this is an excellent movie...there are things that would have certainly made it better. I thought that some of the actual movie footage was distracting. There was so much footage of the documentary (and the documentary of the documentary) that I found the cuts back to actual movie distracting at times (yes, this was really a movie about a documentary and a documentary about that documentary).

That having been said, I thought there was a lot to like about the movie as well. The acting was very very good (Paul Rudd was especially good). It was also (I thought) a rather novel approach to the subject matter. Definitely worth watching.

Paul Miller, a self-described "failed actor," sets out for his final act and his ultimate role.

The last two days of his life ending with his suicide on tape.

He tries to reunite with old friends and family members to say one last final goodbye, all of whom attempt to coax him out of killing himself or dismiss his intentions as a joke.

Paul Rudd never goes below a certain level of acting ability, which is why he's in so many movies. The big negative in this movie is that the secondary characters are not especially good actors and it brings the movie down.

The movie runs the gamut from funny to dark and depressing, which also is a bit unsettling because you don't know what to think. There is also a real lot if filler material like introducing the crew -- who care? What you really mean is you couldn't come up with enough appropriate footage to fill a feature film.

And therein lies the rub. We're interested in Paul but get a lot of the bad acting secondary characters. Also odd is that this is a video tape record but it sure looks like film. I could be wrong.

In the end, the movie is brought down by way too much filler and bad acting. Oh, and a cop-out ending we were promised would not happen.

30 year old failed Hollywood actor Paul Miller (Paul Rudd) intends to kill himself in 2 days. He has brought in Stu (Adam Scott), Stu's girlfriend Jennifer (Marguerite Moreau), and a crew to document his last days as he reconnects with old friends and family members. They try to talk him out of it and many wonder about his true intention.

With Rudd and Scott, one assumes that this would be a comedy. It's more of a dark comedy although it's not anything funny. It is somewhat unique. It's strangely quirky but it can't maintain any drive beyond the initial fascination. After awhile, one wonders if there is an actual person in Paul. Instead of the behind the scene stupidity, this should be a movie about Paul. The rest left me cold and Paul mostly refuses to let me in. There is a cool distance and an actor's facade that prevents the performance from becoming real. This is an interesting experimental film idea but nothing more.

I really loved this movie. Just saw it today at the AFI Film Festival in Hollywood. It's very funny, sweet, and surprisingly emotional. Paul Rudd is excellent in the lead role and the supporting cast are quite good as well.

Because this film deals with the Los Angeles film scene, it probably wouldn't be very appealing to a mainstream audience. Also the subject matter is quite dark and a few people walked out of the screening. Ironically, the people who left did so just as the main character suggests that anyone watching his story (he's a frustrated actor making a documentary of his impending suicide) would probably be running for the aisles at this point because people don't like to think about dark subjects like this!

I won't reveal the ending, but it was quite suspenseful. If you like offbeat comedies and have any sort of appreciation for caricatures of Hollywood personalities, you would probably enjoy this film.

Definitely NOT a feel good movie if you're planning for a night in with the ladies, but I promise you won't be disappointed if you are a fan of low budget independent films! The story revolves around an out of work actor (Paul Rudd) whose depression over the way his life has turned out, leads him to film a documentary about his last days before committing suicide.

Although I found some of the dialogue a little drawn out and the pacing a little on the slow side, I felt the acting was superb. At times it seemed as though the actors were improving their scenes which made the story more unique to me. Definitely have to give credit to Paul Rudd's performance in this role! (8/10)

2 Days is a movie about the last few days of Paul's life. Paul, a struggling actor, has decided to commit suicide in two days and wants to film them in lieu of leaving a suicide note. Paul goes around to his friends and family and agent and says goodbye the best way he can. The film crew is made up of Paul's best friend, who wants the movie to be fixed and have some kind of climactic feel good meaning to the whole thing, the co-director, who really wants to document the reality without creating any false meaning to the whole deal, and then the sound guy, camera guy, and briefly a make-up girl. The film crew has there own problems throughout the movie, the director is a conniving ass, the sound guy likes the director's girlfriend, etc.

This movie is actually very good. The camera switches to let you know which parts the film crew films and which parts are parts of the actual movie by limiting the amount of screen that you see. The camera's all use a fuzzy grainy filter, but it seems like it belongs. The writing and pacing of the movie is perfect, it keeps it exciting and interesting even though he's only going day to day to people's houses and talking to them. The story, while made mostly depressing for a long time, as cynical dark humor, and a very good message to send throughout. The story of the film crew is also critical of film crews in general, from the people who are on them to the things they try to do to shape even nonfiction movies like documentaries.

Though there wasn't a whole lot bad about the movie, a few things deserve pointing out. First off, there is a few attempts at humor early in the film, which mostly dies out by the time the movie is about halfway through. I blame it mostly on the fact that the movie is about a guy who wants to commit suicide, there's a bit of a dark cloud hanging over the story that makes the funny parts more along the lines of frown and shake your head parts. Besides that, the grainy filter of the movie is still a little hard to get used to, and some of the lighting comes through the camera a bit too bright.

Characterization in this movie is done perfectly, both through writing and through acting. Paul Rudd does perfectly as Paul, it almost feels like a movie about himself. The sub-director is a likable character who wants to film honestly, but you want to ring his neck a bit for not trying to stop Paul more. The director, Paul's best friend, is a serious ass and you really want to kick his ass more than the guy who wants to commit suicide. The rest of the crew have distinct personality that mainly plays into humorous situations but still works and are all acted out brilliantly. This is a great cast.

Overall, the movie is great, I don't want to give away the ending. If you're looking for a good independent with great acting then this movie is quality stuff. If you're looking for Paul Rudd before 40-year old virgin, this is the stuff to get.

Final Score: 8/10

One of the hardest things to pull off is a comedy mixed with serious drama. This film does it well. The acting is superb and the story is engaging.

Most of the craziness revolves around the main character, who remains steadfast in his resolve to kill himself even as others plot to change his mind or refuse to take him seriously. The actress who plays his girl friend, Rachel, could be the next Halle Berry. Beautiful and talented. Some of the other actors are also deserving of bigger and better roles in the future.

This film just came out on DVD-- check it out.

In regard to the scene on the beach-- I think his intent is made clear by his statement about the credit cards.

I saw hundreds of movies in my life, only a few of them had affect on me like this movie. People may like it or not, it still influence your thoughts and emotions, and the superb acting of the main character only adds to the authenticity of the story. Besides that, the movie is very original (even though it's influenced from some reality shows). Although the movie talks about very serious matter, it does it in very "friendly" way, you feel comfortable with the character. Still, it seems that even if everything is seems to be Okay, It's NOT. And that's, I believe, the real story of the movie.

Besides that, It's a great shame that the movie didn't hit the cinemas, in my country anyway, I believe that people must see this movie, even just for the thoughts that come up from that movie.

The highest praise I can sing for this movie is that it doesn't condescend to the very serious issue of depression and suicide. It is laugh-out-loud funny at times, insightful, and very honest. Though something within me was hoping for a ballsier ending, I respect the filmmakers choices, and through the flaws, this is a very good film. Adam Scott and Paul Rudd are ridiculously on point (as always), and the suspense builds up in a real and meaningful way. If you can dig the super low-budget vibe, I highly recommend this. I literally found a copy on DVD for about 88 cents, so I'm sure you can find a copy if you really want it.

I am a third-year film student. I recently saw this film at the end of its world premiere run at Rotterdam Film Festival. I was fortunate enough to meet director Sean McGinly, who told me that he cannot expect more than a very limited release for the film. This is unfortunate, but even more of a shock was finding that the current IMDb user rating is a mere 5.7!!

I completely fail to understand what is going through the minds of the vast majority of the people who saw the film at Rotterdam. I urge anyone with a taste for intelligent, original filmmaking - that has the power to make you laugh, cry, and feel glad to be alive within the space of half an hour - to watch this film. A film whose satirical nightmare scenario, created by the competitive nature of Hollywood and the desperation that results, is ESSENTIAL viewing for wannabe directors and actors - more compelling than Robert Altman's THE PLAYER, might I suggest - and with twists and turns that recall Frank Capra's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. I also implore a distributor searching for high-quality, innovative American independent films to contact McGinly immediately!

A Great film that unfortunately fell far below the radar when it came out. Featuring a great cast of people including (Paul Rudd) who plays Paul Miller a man ready to end his life but wants to film his last two days first. And (Adam Scott) who is hired to direct and help film those last two days.

The Story was well written, and acted. The personal relationships in the film felt very real and not scripted. Some movies have a way of captivating you without really trying to. And this is one of those movies.

It's almost a found footage film without actually being one. But check it out, you won't be disappointed.

I just picked up Two Days on a whim at the rental store, and was more than pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I found Paul Rudd's performance moving and the rest of the characters to be involved in a sort of black comedy. I don't usually comment on movies but I wouldn't want the previous user's comment to dissuade someone from seeing a worthwhile film. Subjects don't have to be dissected in order for them to have meaning, so I don't feel that the film needed any improvement. I found the crafting of the screenplay itself to be original, even for an independent film. In response to the prior user's comment on the lack of reflection on suicide, I'd like to contend that Two Days is not a film about suicide, it's a film about life.