….and it was really, really good. Well, sort of. Kind of. First of all a bit of background. I was planning on seeing it on Christmas Day as that’s when it was supposed to come out in theaters, but I drove by the local movie theater earlier today and saw that it was listed as “now showing.” And it was indeed showing already, so I went to one of the showings this evening.
The movie was exactly what I was expecting actually, which is depressing on one hand but good on the other hand. No, it’s not all about flying, but it’s all about the things that come along with being on the road more often than not. I thought they did a phenomenal job not just with the factual aspects of frequent travel (which I’m sure is largely thanks to American, Hertz, Hilton, and Travelpro), but also the emotions, actions, and different personalities of those that travel. There were also many laugh out loud scenes, especially when it came to the travel scenes. I found myself laughing when others weren’t, while others laughed when I wasn’t, although it really was funny all around.
The movie was thought provoking, at least for those of us that spend more times at airports than at home. Here’s where I sort of start with some spoilers, so if you haven’t seen the movie, feel free to stop reading here. The reason I get into this is because I’d like to hear the thoughts of others that have seen the movie. And if you do stop reading here, definitely give the movie a watch.
Anyway, on one hand Clooney’s character seems happy all the way up until the end, even before he meets “Alex.” He might be lonely, but at the same time you can’t miss what you don’t know, and he really enjoys being on the road. Now I don’t want to get into my general theory on marriage and families, but I think very few people in the world are really happy.
The “flaw” in his character only really seems to come out when he pursues “Alex,” only to find out she’s married. And sadly enough from there I thought the movie kind of stunk, at least for someone like me that was hoping for some kind of happy or noteworthy ending. Despite making ten million miles, he seems to end up unhappy, but then again it’s not totally clear. On one hand he doesn’t seem like he’d be happy continuing to travel and being alone, but at the same time I can’t imagine he’d be happy at home either, even if he were settled with someone he loves. It’s just one of those endings that makes me want to rip my hair out. What message can those of us that are gone more often than not get out of this? We’re addicted to travel and even enjoy it, but then again there are more meaningful things in life. But based on this movie it seems like there’s no way to win.
Again, great movie overall, although I would have preferred if it ended up being a bit more of a chick flick so I could feel better about my hobby. 😉
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