SOCIAL NETWORK

 

I should have posted this whole review this past Friday, rather than just a highlight of what Justin Timberlake had to say in the post-screening Q-and-A, so my scoop about him being on crutches would have been more noticeable, (I think I scooped just everyone, including People.com, for whom I used to write,) but there were several factors in waiting these few days: 1) I had already drafted the review of Love And Other Drugs, so wanted to get it posted, 2) I figured that, by now, most everyone had seen Social Network, so my review wouldn’t be helpful, and 3) I really had nothing profound to say about it, either way, so I wasn’t going to even bother.

But, as time has worn-on, I realize that there was so much juiciness in the post-show, that I need to share it. So here it is. Oysh. All that just for a small actual review!!! I’m exhausting myself before I’ve even begun to write!

Okay, first the two best scoops from Justin Timberlake:

1) As I reported at the end of my Love And Other Drugs review on Friday, just to get credit for the scoop, (which I rarely do get,) Justin hobbled onto the stage with crutches, which he said was a result of a mishap on the set of his latest project, which I believe is titled Now.

2) Here’s a story I also reported on Friday, but I was so excited to witness this that I have to re-share: Justin was talking about how great the film’s use of music was. He was describing how intense it was at one point and said that it made the scene so exciting, “like the bank robbery scene in Heat.” And, sitting right next to me, was Ray Buktenica, the actor who played the bank manager who got punched-out by Robert DeNiro in that very scene!

I looked right over at him, and he had a bemused smile on his face. I asked if he was going to go over and thank Justin after, and, being the classy, non-self-promotional guy he is, of course he wasn’t. But it was a fun experience for me to witness the lauding by Timberlake. I can’t even imagine what that must have felt like for Mr. Buktenica. If it had been me, I’m sure I would have screamed. Loudly.

Other than those bon mots, Justin was the most boring person on earth!!! I was truly shocked. This from the dude who gave us [Junk] In The Box! I didn’t even have to take a warm bath when I got home to fall asleep–I just thought of Justin’s speech.

But the other two guys were somewhat interesting. I don’t really have much of a review of the actual film. I thought it was good enough, (though not enough for any awards they’ve already won,) seemed a little too long, and had excellent portrayals for the most part.

But I just don’t get why it was so darkly-lit. I guess they were trying to use true college lighting, maybe? I kept checking to see if I was wearing sunglasses by accident. (Don’t laugh–it happened once at an animation festival, and I’ve been aware of that possibility ever since.) For a second, I actually worried that I was dying, ala Betty Davis in what Mr. X and call “Prognosis Negative,” but is really Dark Victory. There’s just no reason for such dark lighting on a film that people are going to spend two hours using their eyes to decipher.

My one other problem with it was Justin Timberlake’s acting, which is not great. I see him thinking that he’s doing great, as he’s doing it. I’m a fan of his music and comedy, but his acting just does not cut it, I’m sorry to say. (And all the writers and critics who say he should be up for an award are just wanting to be on his good side, like they’ve always done when Cher’s been up for something. Her Oscar for her close-to-dreadful performance in Moonstruck over Meryl Streep’s more-than-brilliant portrayal of a homeless woman in Ironweed is beyond laughable.)

So, back to the post-screening Q-and-A. I swear, I was shocked to find out that the Winklevoss twins, so easy to differentiate on film, were actually played by just one guy! I really must laud the handsome Armie Hammer for his excellent acting job. Everyone I’ve talked to since thought they were twin actors, as well. Mr. X even commented on how of course they got the part because they were perfect for it! And he never gets tricked–he notices every little thing on-screen.

Armie walked-out with us, so I got to witness up-close how nice he was to all the people who wanted a piece of him. Lovely to see.

The other surprise was that Andrew Garfield, who played the real co-founder of Facebook, Eduardo Saverin, is really British! I kept calling him “the Jewish guy” because his movie accent was so New York Jewish; he reminded me of a young Jonathan Silverman. But, just as I giving him props in my mind for such an authentic accent, the speakers mentioned that he was doing a Brazilian one! I did not hear that at all, so I have to re-think my props. It’ll be interesting to see him as the new Spiderman, which I can’t picture, but I still can’t see Tobey McGuire in the role, so maybe I won’t be the best judge on that front.

At least this time, no one in the audience tried to self-promote, as inevitably happens at these events. They must have all just been star-struck to see JT right in front of their eyes.

One thing I found annoying is that, when a question was put to the panel about if they had met their real-life counterparts, Justin said, “Can I take this one?,” knowing full well that the other actors wouldn’t protest. I thought he was just going to tell the story of meeting his guy, Sean Parker, and instead, he told both of the other guys’ stories! He even said, “Andrew had just two photos to work off–he has a great story about doing that,” and then never let the guy tell it!!! Self-involved much, Justin?

Okay, so to re-cap, I don’t think the film as a whole deserves the awards and accolades it’s getting, but I haven’t seen all this year’s crop yet to compare. And Jesse Eisenberg seems excellent to me in the starring role of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, but Mr. X said that that’s basically how he always acts, so I don’t really know.

And, the movie still didn’t answer the question to which many of us are dying to know the answer: JUST HOW ARE THEY MAKING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS FROM A SITE THAT HAS NO ADVERTISING OR AFFILIATE MARKETING??? We just don’t get it. I was really hoping the film would give us just a little insight into that, but all they mentioned was all the money going into the company. [Last night’s 60 MINUTES cleared that up for us, but the movie still should have done so.]

And at the end, the filmmakers put-up notes of who got what in their lawsuits, but I’m pretty sure they didn’t mention the third guy who really invented social networking with the twins. Why not? Googling it all told me that he did get some money out of it, too, so why not let us know? (Unless I just blanked-out when they showed it because it seemed so long by then.)

So, that’s my review: worth seeing, some interesting backstories, and a not-praiseworthy Justin Timberlake. Par for the screening season. [After writing this review, I saw the brilliant Biutiful, which made-up for the up-till-now boring film season, so please don’t miss that review tomorrow.]