American Exit (2019)
7/10
A bit formulaic, but good enough to watch and enjoy
27 December 2022
I find it very interesting that the number of people who loved (rated 10) this film is nearly equal to the number of those who hated it (rated 1). My first impression of this bizarre yet equal split is that odds are, this wide ocean of disagreement comes down to two sects: (a) those who enjoy Dane Cook's body of work, and (b) those who abhor it. Much has been written already about how nonchalantly those in and around Hollywood have cast him aside so quickly after he became so uber-popular seemingly overnight. Perhaps the shadow he began to cast over those far more senior to him was too much to bear for many in those circles. That appears to have spilled over to the general populace, as there is little "grey area" in the pro/con argument for/against Cook. Seldom has this phenomenon been seen in such an extreme and profound manner in the entertainment industry, but it is not uncommon for extremes to exist in the land of the vapid and pretentious.

I rated this movie a 7, as it was neither great nor dreadful. I genuinely enjoyed it, found myself pulling for the anti-hero and his son and became attached enough to the story line to hope for a different ending. That said, the story line is firm and borderline compelling - the acting solid but not over-the-top in either direction - the cinematics and scenery consistent if not a bit on the basic side. All in all, it's a story about the tragic nature of broken families, desperation for healing, redemption and ultimately...love. And also, worth watching. This is NOT a "1" movie - I feel the poll was stuffed by Cook's odd bunch of those bent on continuing to harm his name further.
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