Critical MeMe

Time spent watching films, even crappy ones, is time well-spent.

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Location: Oklahoma City, OK, United States
    Post dates are when I watched, parenthetical dates are the year of US release (aka Oscar eligibility).

10/25/2001

What Happened Was... (1994)

I've been in some pretty uncomfortable situations. There was one time I wanted to escape my present company so desperately that I pretended my water broke (amazing they bought it, as I was only five months pregnant). But nothing compares to the painful evening the couple in this film endure. It's almost voyeuristic as we observe, in real time, the lulls in conversation, forced laughter, and embarrassing confessions of these two losers.

Two things that are praiseworthy: 1) Tom Noonan, who plays Michael (and is also the director and writer) is completely believable in his role, and 2) the movie's pretty short.

One more thing - I've seen, read, and dreamt a whole lotta of scary things in my life, but apparently I'm a nightmare lightweight compared to the stuff going on in Noonan's mind. The segment where Jackie reads her "children's story" aloud is, quite possibly, the most disturbing sequence on film.

D+

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