Review of Feeling Minnesota

Introduction

Keanu Reeves plays Jjacks, a drifter who’s returning home to his estranged family for his brother Sam’s (Vincent D’Onofrio) wedding. He’s marrying a girl named Freddie (Cameron Diaz) who is being forced to marry him to repay a debt to local nightclub owner / crime boss type named Red. It’s not long before Freddie and Jjacks are ripping each other’s clothes off and so begins a tale of romance and wicked humour . . . if you believe the back of the DVD box that is.

I was sceptical about this film, any movie with Keanu Reeves as the leading man and without the word “Matrix” in the title is to be approached with apprehension – he hasn’t earned the reputation of wooden top for nothing. Having said that I do like Cameron Diaz so perhaps this could be somewhat entertaining.

Video

The picture is sharp and clear throughout. The colours do seem a little washed out however I have a suspicion that this is more to do with the way in which the film was shot. Most of the outdoor shots were very overcast so I think it tends to be more of a choice about ambience rather than any defect with the DVD’s quality.

Audio

The Dolby Pro-Logic soundtrack is functional and nothing more. Dialogue is clear but instances of good use of the surround channels are few and far between. Nothing much else to say about it, unimpressive.

Features

The extras on this disc are cast interviews, a featurette and a trailer. The interviews are with assorted cast members and whilst being interesting these interviews don’t add to the movie, mostly reiterating what you have just seen in the movie. Likewise the featurette doesn’t show you anything you hadn’t seen already or enlighten you with answers to any questions you might have had.

Clocking in at 29 minutes some effort has been made on this disc however none of the extras actually add to the film, if you don’t like the movie then there’s nothing on the disc that would make you want to get hold of it on DVD.

Conclusion

So this is what’s called a black comedy. Is it me or does black comedy = not funny? Touted as a “wickedly funny romance” I would have to strongly disagree. Not only was it wickedly unfunny but I didn’t laugh once. Maybe I’m missing something here but this movie centres around a group of people who aren’t at all likeable and whom you couldn’t give a s*** about. I couldn’t identify with or care about any of the characters let alone laugh at or with them.

Keanu Reeves, Jjacks, isn’t anywhere near as wooden as I had at first suspected but that doesn’t mean to say that he wouldn’t make a prize chest of drawers or dining room table in some scenes. Cameron Diaz plays Freddie quite well but I can’t help but feel that the handling of her character though the script doesn’t help her at all. Much the same could be said for Vincent D’Onofrio’s character of Sam.

The actual story is largely dull and uninteresting for the most part of the movie. It does start to pick up a touch just after the hour mark with what could have turned out to be a very interesting twist but it’s ruined be a hollow solution and several pieces of dialogue that leave you scratching your head wondering if you missed something earlier on. The characters just don’t seem real due largely to their often inconsistent behaviour and the resulting mess leaves you with feeling confused to the point of giving up.

Overall an average DVD of a poor movie which is neither interesting, humorous or romantic. One to miss.