A comedy, with a brilliant cast, about a tired, tubby, middle-aged man named John (John C. Reilly). He's got no social life and his ex-wife (Catherine Keener) is about to remarry. Down on his luck, John meets meets the woman of his dreams: Molly (Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler), only to discover she has another man in her life – her weird son, Cyrus (Jonah Hill).
Suitor and son clash with Cyrus, an experimental bedroom musician, bluntly issuing a warning to John: "Seriously, don't f**k my mom." This is first major release from indie filmmaker brothers Mark and Jay Duplass, the mumblecore duo behind The Puffy Chair and Baghead.
On paper, Cyrus looks like a bit of a Sundance-baiting exercise. In one corner are the Duplass brothers, "mumblecore" filmmakers and in the other a cast that includes John C. Reilly, Catherine Keener and Marisa Tomei. But that’s not factoring in Jonah Hill, who’s about as far away from an arthouse drawcard as, oh, I don’t know, Wesley Snipes. Hill’s not really the key factor in whether this will resonate with an audience though, instead it is whether the Duplass brothers can achieve some sort of crossover from indie filmmaking’s fringes into its equivalent of mainstream.
Cast aside, Cyrus makes a play for achieving just that, focusing on relationships of both the romantic and overly close kind, and pitching in a bit of misery and boredom in search of a cliche Sundance vibe. More cred points are on offer from the film’s observational/improvisational style that bros Duplass bring along with them, but they’ve neglected the most important part – making the film interesting.
Despite the ripples of hype around them as filmmakers there’s nothing here we haven’t seen before, and certainly not enough laughs, empathy with the characters, or sense of discomfort to justify retreading familiar ground. None of this can be attributed to the cast, who unsurprisingly all turn in good performances (and perhaps Hill will have made a few unexpected fans in the process).
By Steve Newall, Flicks.co.nz
Not a bad movie and not a great movie.
A sweet and quiet comedy with impressive performances from all involved.
Here is a film that uses very good actors and gives them a lot of improvisational freedom to talk their way into, around and out of social discomfort. And it's not snarky. It doesn't mock these characters. It understand they have their difficulties and hopes they find a way to work things out.
The Duplass brothers enter the mainstream with a touching, original and supremely funny film, whose improvisational style sets it apart from other comedies, and marks the emergence of two major new talents. Great performances, too.
Insightful but ultimately ponderous entertainment.
Amuses and unnerves in equal measure. A comedy of discomfort that walks a wonderful line between reality-based emotional honesty and engaging humor, it demonstrates the good things that happen when quirky independent style combines with top-of-the-line acting skill.
The comedy of discomfort that runs through Cyrus is often about several things at once. But the most prevalent emotion in this quirky yet genuine movie is the awkwardness that comes with trying to fit into someone else's life.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 28th Oct 2010.
Release date: October 28th 2010.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
