Meet Bill

Aaron Eckhart, suave and manicured, is surprisingly effective in role as middle-aged sad sack Bill, a disgruntled, directionless human resources executive at his father-in-law's bank who's stuck in a loveless marriage to cheating spouse Elizabeth Banks. The tone of this character portrait is half black comedy and half satire, but Eckhart almost makes the lumpy journey worthwhile (he's an extremely courageous and focused actor, flexible but not a ham). Jessica Alba is fun as a friendly neighborhood salesgirl, but a subplot involving a mouthy teenage boy who chooses Bill to be his "mentor" is excruciating (a duck-hunting sequence with Bill's wife's family is also flabby). Screenwriter Melisa Wallack, who also co-directed with Bernie Goldmann, is careful to let Bill be his own person, but their ultimately victorious "I don't know where I'm going but I'm happy to be here" theme doesn't wash in the end. ** from ****

I just watched Meet Bill last night, and while it wasn't fantastic, it was definitely worth the watch.

This movie follows the main character Bill, who, after a series of downfalls, realizes life isn't going they way he wanted. He then offers to mentor a rich, self-assured high school student. In the end, the student more or less ends up mentoring Bill, and helps him to change his views on life.

I thought the chemistry between Logan Lerman (the kid) and Aaron Eckhart (Bill) was fantastic! they both did a great job with their role, and stole the whole show. These roles were out of style for both actors--I've never seen Eckhart do comedy, and Lerman's character was much more rebellious than usual. It just shows the talent of both actors, especially the versatility of Lerman. The rest of the supporting characters were slightly under-developed.

The style of comedy in this movie is more..."old school" in my opinion. It's not slap-stick or non-stop laughter, but the comedy is inter-weaved throughout the film, with several vary funny scenes and one-liners. I would say the film is geared toward audiences from the mid 20s to mid 40s. However, I am a 16 year old female, and I enjoyed the film.

The plot does get lost a bit, and some characters are under-developed, but overall it's a good independent film. Is it the best or funniest movie you'll ever see? Probably not. But it delivers a style of comedy not found often these days, and if you connect with the style and the story, you will definitely like this movie.

If you like Aaron Eckhart then you'll like this film. It's a departure from anything he's done in the past. Elizabeth Banks plays his wife, a beautiful, self obsessed, spoiled, rich bitch with no redeeming qualities except her looks and body. (It's VERY much the same role as she played in "The Baxter". She's really got this character type down and is carving a niche for herself in indie films.)

As I watched this movie, I thought that it reminded me of those indie films that I loved from the late 90's and early 2000's and how they just don't make them like this anymore. I didn't laugh all the way through this movie, but there were places where I chuckled (considerably) and I did have a smirk on my face for a good bit of the movie. (Think "The Ex" but not as funny.)

It a great Friday night, too tired to think, order a pizza and veg movie. And if you like indie films from a decade ago, then you'll be glad you rented this one.

Aaron Eckhart made this movie, as one of the previous comments said. Other than that, it was all a bit too awkward a movie to call well made. The story is pretty much about a middle aged guy discovering that his career choices make him miserable and how he find his way out without the violence and social satire in American Beauty.

It is a decent comedy, not too bad as some suggested, but certainly not memorable. Jessica Alba plays a medium sized role and Elizabeth Banks looks totally hot.

Bottom line: see it when you feel like watching a light movie, it will be more fun for people approaching middle age than for teens and it can be a great movie to watch with the wife.

I'm not much of a comedy fan, mostly because in recent years they've strayed too far into smart-ass one-liner dumb-formula potty-humor cardboard-cutout territory, which is fine if you like that sort of thing, but I don't.

This, though, is an old-fashioned comedy with heart. Can Bill make his life better with the help of a precocious teen? Sure he can. But the way he gets there isn't just the standard formula, and that makes it a fun watch.

It also helps that the technical work is all top-notch, and the supporting cast is pitch perfect, from the staid father-in-law to the somewhat manic doughnut franchisers.

This isn't a movie that will make you guffaw and belly laugh for an hour and a half, but it does make you feel inspired and offers a few chuckles along the way. In that regard, it reminds me of "Charlie Bartlett," "Juno" and "Rocket Science."

I'm glad this style of comedy didn't die out because of the Farrelly Brothers' success. Their kind of comedy is redundant and dumb -- this type leaves you happy for a while. And Hollywood should do that more often.