TIFF Day 3 - You Are Here review (a post by the other A Mrk!)

The movie You Are Here, written and directed by Mad Men's Matthew Weiner, and starring Owen Wilson, Zack Galifianakis and Amy Poelher, helps us prove that Weiner cannot write movies, cannot write comedies, and cannot write women. This movie is the worst waste of acting talent since Ocean's 12. Those who have accused the Mad Men's creator of sexism will find plenty of ammunition here as well.

The film's plot is that Galifianakis and Poelher's father has died and they return for the reading of the will, with Galifiankas accompanied by a friend, played by Owen Wilson. Both men play their normal types, but Poelher is unfortunately miscast as cold and humourless. Also present is their father's widow, a much younger woman who is suspected of being a gold-digger. After Galifiankas is left the bulk of the estate, including money and the beautiful rural farm he owned, Poelher's character begins the process of legally wrestling the money back.

The movie features a series of tone changes and bizarre contradictions, including when Galifiankas's character spends the middle third of the movie wanting to create a non-profit society on the land, and then - without explanation - decides to give the land to Wilson's character and let his sister demolish their father's historic store. These contradictions continue in a sequence with an Amish family. Galifiankas runs away, naked, across the farmers' fields and is taken in by an Amish family. The father stops working to kindly take his horse and buggy into town to let Galifiankas's family know. After Galifiankas's sister arrives the following exchange occurs between these two strangers:

      Poelher's character: Do you pray to God for things you want?
     Amish man: Of course. 
      Poelher: What happens if you don't believe in God? I'm trying to get pregnant. 
     Amish man: Maybe it's because you don't believe in God that you can't get pregnant. 
  
WTF? Again, these two people have never met. Why would they have this conversation? And the Amish man has just been very kind - why would he say something so cruel?

The misogyny continues with an idiotic subplot in which Owen Wilson's character tries to look in at his neighbour as she undresses. After several failed attempts, by the end of the movie he succeeds in seeing her, only for her to notice him. Her response - to being spied on by a strange man when she is naked - is to model herself nude for him to look at her. What woman would possibly react that way?

Poelher, an actress of humour and intelligence and a woman of clear kindness, should never be in a part or movie like this. At the post-screening Q & A she appeared embarrassed, though she was very funny and gracious with the audience. She has always stood up as a feminist, so perhaps she was unaware of some of the plot. Neither Galifiankas nor Wilson (neither in attendance) contribute anything beyond low-end schtick. Bizarrely, Weiner, who was present, did not appear to find anything wrong with the movie at all and seemed proud of it. Also worthy of criticism is TIFF, who watched this piece of shit and included it, presumably based on its star power.