Being Flynn - Fruity Pseudo Serious Review

So a few months ago when I saw the trailer for Being Flynn, I couldn't believe it wasn't in the running for an Oscar. It had all of the elements you needed; actors who hadn't truly acted in a while, a quirky story line, it looked boring enough for old people, and of course it had the token hottie. But when it finally came out I saw why it had fallen short.

The first two acts are pretty solid. With the exception of the first 5 minutes which seemed like it was written by some University of Phoenix film student. For some reason the story starts off being told from Robert Deniro's persective, then Paul Dano's, then Deniro's, then back to Dano's. And then all of a sudden it just drops that whole angle and isn't narrated by anyone. Kind of pointless but then it picks up steam. Essentially the story is about Bob Deniro being a terrible father who is a con man and who claims to be one of only 3 great American writers. He is constantly doing research for this masterpiece book that isnt yet complete. Paul Dano is his son who is constantly let down by him and eventually goes years without hearing from his father. Julianne Moore, who is always terrific plays Dano's mother. The entire movie Dano, like all of us, tries desparately to avoid growing up to be just like his parents but eventually falls into the same patterns his parents did. Self hatred (mother) and a self inflicted downward spiral (father) while also trying to become a writer himself. His mother commits suicide, for which reasons you'll find out later, and his father becomes homeless and is in fact living in the shelter that Dano works for. Dano for obvious reasons can't handle this and this triggers his fall into the world of drugs. The movie gives you a look into the homeless that you rarely see and makes you take a hard look at yourself. I dont want to spoil the rest of the movie but that should at least peak your interest.
It's refreshing to see Deniro actually trying again since Billy Crystal ruined him and he stopped ziplining from buildings (Brazil 1985). Paul Dano purely based on his performance in Blood!!!! should be in every movie. Btw when I asked for a ticket to Blood, the short scrub behind the counter sighed loudly and said "you mean There Will be Blood by Paul Thomas Anderson?". Yes scrub, that movie. So that's what I mean by Blood!!! And of course I cant forget the token hottie Olivia Thirlby is there to give me something to dream about that night. The problem with this movie is the third act. You could tell the writer was fighting with the execs to have a happy ending. So you have forced resolutions and an ending that just doesnt seem plausible. But I definitely suggest seeing this movie. I would mark it as slightly fresh.