After waiting years to finally get around to seeing this, I was pretty damn excited when I found a copy of it lying around that I’d previously thought unplayable. Sadly, the excitement didn’t last long. I was a huge fan of the 1937 movie when I saw it as a sixteen year old, it was probably the first “old” movie (outside of the ones all kids are exposed to anyway like Wizard of Oz and Snow White etc) I’d seen and among the first to really make me cry my eyes out (“This is Mrs Norman Maine!” lol I can actually barely remember the movie but that line will always be with me). One would think such an influential introduction to the original would put me off the remakes, but how can you refuse the 50s version with Judy Garland and James Mason and then this, with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson?

Well, the problem with this version of the story is, it’s pretty much exactly as I imagined it would be; now that I’ve seen it, I wonder why I was ever so excited by the idea. It’s really more a showcase for Barbra Streisand’s talent and voice built shakily around the bones of the original. It hits all the marks, but somehow the story suddenly feels horribly loose, as though they’re just plodding through the plot points by the number to get to the next big song.

It has its moments, and it’s a worthy production if only for giving the world “Evergreen” – that scene here is by far the most affecting too … really, even in the music department outside of that song, this one disappoints. Compared to the emotion I wanted from it, I really couldn’t feel more let down. I’ve been amazed thinking lately why there hasn’t been another remake of the story since this one; now, having seen it, I don’t know whether to simply realise this is why that is or to wonder even more – afterall, I honestly think even a new remake with a Lindsay or Britney or Ashlee-a-like would have the potential to work better than this overall.

“They said we’re gonna fit right in over there. She said they’re kids and dreamers. They’re kids and dreamers!”

This is immediately cuter than expected – like, part of me was avoiding it for fear of just being jealous of the guy involved lol, like, come on, Drew is mine!!!! lol But as soon as the movie begins, you get a sense of the guy and his attitude, the silliness and whatnot, and it’s actually no surprise that his mission was ultimately successful (I’m sure that’s not too much of a spoiler: she’s in the movie; it’s the journey that’s the fun part) because – as far as I know, at least, and as someone even says on the street to him early on – he’s just exactly the kind of guy she’s always saying she looks for … he’s singing “Cool Rider” from Grease 2 at the end to psych himself up for the meeting lol, what more do you need?!

Basically, if you’ve ever had a celebrity crush – better still if you’ve taken that crush to levels bordering on obsession and psychosis, or if you’ve done the whole stage door or premiere thing or whatever (especially if you froze up to some degree while doing it lol) – the movie’s for you, it totally tackles that whole thing of the freaky way we sometimes think of ourselves as close to famous people etc. It kind of falls apart in some places when you see how many connections he has anyway (like, the fact he lives in L.A. makes it less impressive an endeavor to begin with – maybe I should do “My Date With Dakota” in a few years lol. THAT would be a challenge KIDDING! sorta …), the weird lookalike sequence, and the fake pass moment – but overall, it’s as sweet as any Drew movie I’ve seen … in fact, it’s probably sweeter in its own way than some of the more “official” productions. It’s just unbelievably sweet. The fact that for most of its duration it’s a Drew movie with no Drew yet I still was hooked on the screen speaks volumes; the fifth heart in the rating here is for the conversation with Drew at the end. If you’re not a big fan of Drew and all she stands for, you mightn’t get as much out of the movie as I did; but I’m sure you won’t be totally let down.

Even though I personally find it far more compelling even purely on the surface level, I think it’d be hypocritical of me – at least on this first viewing – to not partially lump this in with Zodiac and American Gangster and others from last year in terms of its visual and stylistic aspects often somewhat outweighing its emotional drive.

I looked forward to writing here about the length in hopes it would be one of those rare exceptions where long is good. At times, that’s true – for me it’s the little things, like how even a character’s blink seems to be drawn out over a number of shots; the death of James itself, too, by far one of the most beautiful scenes in the film, the inevitability of it all drawn out excruciatingly. But my attention certainly did wander in places and I see no reason why it couldn’t have been pared down at least below the 2 hour mark. A lot of people have compared the movie to the work of Terrence Malick – both of whose first 2 movies came in at 90 minutes making no sacrifices of depth. I know I go on about this too much but really with the number of great movies coming out now, even those dedicating an unhealthy amount of their time to watching them needs a break

I’m certain it will grow on me with subsequent viewings, but I can’t deny a slight twinge of disappointment as I’ve been looking forward to seeing this one for a long time. Does Casey Affleck deserve the Oscar nomination just for making it through 3 hours without smirking that blasted smirk of his once? Probably not. But I was glad to see him looking pretty much 100% serious at last, and I’d be lying if I said there weren’t a few moments of his that truly caught me offguard. The Nick Cave score works much better with the pictures, too; I’d listened to it before Christmas and, well, it’s really not one for the iPod, put it that way.