Blu-ray Review Cyrus
Directed by: Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass Cast: John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei, Jonah Hill Running Time: 1 hr 30 min Rating: R Due Out: December 14, 2010
PLOT: A lonely divorced man (Reilly) meets a fun, beautiful woman (Tomei). The catch, her weird, adult son Cyrus (Hill) is determined to break them up.
WHO'S IT FOR? Despite the actors in the title roles, this isn't a typical comedy. Though funny at times, it's also dramatic and kind of mature, though the characters aren't always.
MOVIE:
Cyrus tries to sell itself as a comedy, especially in the trailer. Though some parts are funny, I'd consider it more of a drama. It tells the story of three people who have trouble connecting, for various reasons; a mother and son who are so insular she hasn't even had a boyfriend in years and a divorced man who's best friend is his ex-wife (who's about to be remarried).
Though the film starts off strong (the party scene is fun) it kind of lulls for a bit after we meet Cyrus. Hill turns off any charm and just goes for full on creepy. It works, but doesn't make him fun to watch. It wasn't until the second half of the film that I really started to get interested again. When the characters start realizing who they are, and what their limitations are, I checked back in. There are moments that are just really genuine and beautiful, in particular, Reilly and Tomei are in bed together after Cyrus has moved out and she's crying in bed. He tries to tell her it'll be OK but she gets upset, so he goes in the opposite direction and tells her everything is terrible. It works, she laughs. The moment isn't much, but the two characters really connect and I think that's when I thought, wow, they should be together.
Still, I don't know if it's worth buying on Blu-ray. I liked the film and some of the extras are fun, I particularly enjoyed the Q&A which the filmmakers do at home, with their daughters. They ask themselves pretty good questions. But this isn't one I'd rewatch a lot. It's worth seeing once though.
MOVIE SCORE: 6/10
EXTRAS
Deleted Scenes
Q&A with Directors/Writers Jay and Mark Duplass
Music Mash-Up with John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill
Behind the Scenes at SXSW with Jay and Mark Duplass
Fox Movie Channel presents: In Character with John C. Reilly
Fox Movie Channel presents: In Character with Jonah Hill