3 stars out of 5
This is a movie that thinks it is much better than it is. And I have to imagine that everybody heaping praise and awards on J.K. Simmons just never saw him as Vern Schillinger (hard G, thank you!) on OZ. Not that he doesn’t give a great performance in Whiplash, but come on, playing a sadistic motherfucker is a walk in the park for Simmons.
It happened with American Sniper and happened again here: I expected a different movie than I got. Sure, I’ll take a lot of the responsibility for that. But the movie that I wanted would’ve been better.
What I anticipated from Whiplash: the tale of a musician stretched to the absolute limits—and then some—to achieve genuine greatness, and the deep psychological wounds endured in the process. Ooh, and then we could apply this story to anyone’s chosen field, when perfection becomes obsession, at the expense of all else. And so, while we’d get the unique ins-and-outs of being an academically-trained musician, a lot of other people could relate to the movie as well. Hooray!
“Now wait a #^$&@&*@ second, Jack,” you might be thinking, “I saw this movie, and what you described is exactly what takes place, you stupid moron. And also, how come YOU get to swear in the opening paragraph, but all I get is a string of keyboard symbols?”
Here’s the thing: Just as Simmons’ teacher character wants Miles Teller’s drumming-student to really PUSH through to a whole other level, I wanted the movie to also break on through to the other side. But that doesn’t happen. And why? Because writer/director… hmmm, I want to say Dave Chapelle? Nope, that’s not it… doesn’t trust his subject matter! Maybe he was worried it would be too boring. So, onto this seemingly smart, little film (I mean, come on, it’s a “Sony Pictures Classic” fer crissakes), he melds a mind-bendingly dumb thriller. Simmons becomes a total cartoon character. And two thirds of the way through (thanks a #^@&@!*@ lot, Syd Field) (oh great now I’m doing it too), there is a RIDICULOUSLY IDIOTIC scene that completely took me out of the story. Goodbye, believability! Au revoir!
Simmons, solid. Teller, solid. Paul Reiser as the dad? Hey, he was fantastic in Diner but at this point he’s a bit too sitcom’d out to seem very real.
Also unfortunately missing: the absolute, always reliable joy of music. Or if that is here, it’s buried way too far down in the mix.
Absolutely agree. But the ridiculously idiotic scene — well, really moment — for me, that completely took me out of the story happened much earlier. Maybe first third, when (spoiler alert?) the Simmons character slaps the Teller character. Too over the top. Yelling is one thing, but physical abuse? Can’t see a teacher in any setting getting away with it.
Definitely. It seemed like this guy was trying to make a realistic film, so you just can’t have that. A teacher we both know loved the movie, but willingly admitted that he was an absurd teacher. For me, that made it impossible to love.