Gerry

A total BORE about being lost in the desert, but Worthwhile for a few reasons

"Gerry" (2002) is a film by Gus Van Sant, the director of "Good Will Hunting" and "Elephant." It stars Matt Damon and Casey Affleck as two friends who get lost in the desert; they spend the entire film just walking around the beautiful parched landscapes trying to find a way out.

As a captivating piece of cinema, "Gerry" is a TOTAL failure. I say this without any reservation because my definition of a good film is one that simply maintains your interest. If the film fails to capture your interest, that is, it bores you, causes your thoughts to wander, puts you to sleep, etc. THEN IT'S NOT A GOOD FILM. Yet, even though this is true, I find there are a number of reasons why "Gerry" is a worthwhile piece of cinema:

1. It gives a good laugh. Although it's a serious "story" and by no means a comedy, I found myself uproariously laughing on quite a few occasions. Why? I don't know, perhaps because I can't believe someone would actually blow the money ($3.5 million) on making such a "film" and actually think people would like it (well, beyond pretentious art-geeks). Also there are several laugh-inducing sequences, albeit unintentional, like the absurdly overlong CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH scene.

2. It makes for a great joke movie. What I mean is, you can tell a friend or family member what a great movie you have for them to watch (do a lot of raving) and put "Gerry" in; then just kick back and wait for their inevitable negative reaction (e.g. "This movie's a piece of sh**", etc.). In most cases it will only take between 15 and 20 minutes, and certainly no longer than 35-40 minutes, unless it's someone who has a romantic interest in you and doesn't want to hurt your feelings.

3. If, like me, you enjoy watching beautiful landscapes, in this case desert landscapes filmed in America (Utah & Southern Cal) and Argentina, then "Gerry" is a decent flick in which to kick back. Especially if you just want to relax and not have to THINK. The ambient piano/violin score nicely enhances the relaxing mood.

4. It is a great sleep-aid. Seriously, if you're having trouble sleeping, pop in "Gerry" and it'll send you straight to la-la land. I'm serious here, the first time I watched it I was ready to fall asleep after a mere 20 minutes, although I ended up lasting about a half hour. Because of this, it took me FOUR intervals to complete the film (and, yes, it put me to sleep each time).

Just so you know, the movie is titled "Gerry" because the two guys constantly refer to each other as "Gerry," a friendly nickname meaning "loser" or "screw-up."

Although the film itself is a bore I do enjoy the debates over its probable meaning, e.g. life itself is a desert and the foolhardy side of your psyche (that is, your “id” or “flesh”) must perish in order for you to survive and thrive.

By the way, the Affleck character fits the name "Gerry" to a 'T.' You gotta listen REAL close when he speaks because he just sort of mumbles his lines (what few there are).

BOTTOM LINE: Although "Gerry" is an abysmal failure as far as captivating cinema goes, it's worthwhile for the four reasons noted above, plus it’s interesting to interpret, hence my 2-Star rating. I suppose "Gerry" can be respected for brazenly rejecting EVERY cinematic convention, but that’s more stupefying than bold. Which prompts me to wonder: Maybe Gus Van Sant is pulling the ultimate Gerry on us… and we're all Gerrys because we FELL for it!

The film runs 1 hour and 43 minutes and is at least an hour overlong. Several tedious scenes are about ten times longer than they need to be. I wish I were kidding. They’re laughable.

GRADE: D-