Personal Effects

This movie was well written and the acting was far beyond my expectations. Not that the whole cast isn't already great, but Ashton K was really much better than I expected him to be at acting without words... I'm used to enjoying comedy and far out roles for him...but his take on an ordinary character with problems was unexpectedly deep and rang true. The ending and the overall message that the movie left was also a pleasant surprise. I first thought this movie was going to be a study in the gloom of sudden loss. I think viewers will smile if they watch thru to the last frame ...there's a nice little twist if you look close.

source: Personal Effects

If you were to film a row of country mailboxes with their lids flapping open and shut over several weeks it would be roughly as interesting as this movie -- and far more credible. Ashton Kutcher plays a big, silent, slow-talking wrestler who can't communicate his feelings about his murdered sister, except to subject himself to dangerous bench-press challenges, alone in the training room. He remains about this communicative for the first sixty minutes of the film, and he appears to waver between "half-wit" and "strong silent type" (really, REALLY silent type) for so long, you get the impression the screenwriter couldn't quite decide what to do with human clay before him. That's where Michelle Pfeiffer comes along, with lines so pedestrian ("I work at the community center", "I cry at weddings") they seem geared to stay within her range of performance, and yet she still can't manage them. Believe it or not, she makes Ashton Kutcher look something like an actor. Very miss-able. I still don't know how it ends.

Hollander's 'Personal Effects' reminded me of 'In The Bedroom' and 'Monster's Ball'. It deals with similar themes of coping with the loss of a loved one. The story is treated with equal restraint. The character development is gradual and in accordance with how the layers unfold. The visuals are very detailed and photogenic. It has a certain poetic feel which is further substantiated by the amazing score. I'm actually in search of the soundtrack. Ashton Kutcher may be an odd choice for the role but I appreciate his attempt to break away from the typecast goofball roles he's known for. Where his acting is concerned, it appears very formulaic. It lacks spontaneity but one can see the actor's effort. It may not be among the best examples of acting but he gets better in the latter scenes and overall turns in an adequate performance. Michelle Pfeiffer easily delivers a natural performance that just seems like a piece of cake for her. The actress knows her craft too well. Ditto for Kathy Bates who stands out in a supporting role. Spencer Hudson is a sincere actor. The only thing that bothered me about this movie is its lethargic pace which is very slow in the first half. The director focuses too much on the closeups when much of it could have easily been trimmed. Moreover, I didn't understand the need to 'maintain the element of suspense' in the end when the viewer easily knew the outcome (hence no surprise)? There are a few plot holes like why Walter didn't empty the gun before returning it to Linda. These flaws are but a few and thankfully they don't dilute the film (as long as one has some patience to get through the first half)

This was an astonishing piece of Filmwork. In the beginning one wonders where it heads of to but after a bit you can see where it goes. But that's not bad since the creation of Tension wasn't necessarily the goal of the movie I guess. It was narrated excellent especially the relationship of Clay and Walter and of Walter and Linda. The Actors were great too. And the whole movie leaves you thinking about ... well basically anything touching our heart ... loss, love, grief, joy, success and so on. It wasn't too long nor too short. And it kept me bound to it the whole 105 minutes. Ashton once again shows his desire for older women :-) ... while in this case I can't blame him. Mrs. Pfeiffer played an outstanding mother and desperately love seeking women. And she is as beautiful as ever. Go see it if you get the chance to. And it's also not bad as a DVD Rent for those quiet Winter evenings where you don't wanna set your foot in front of the door.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning Walter (Ashton Kutcher) is training to become a champion wrestler but the tragic murder of his sister throws his life into disarray. Linda (Michelle Phyiffer) is a wedding ceremony arranger whose husband was murdered by one of his friends, leaving her alone to look after her severely deaf son, Clay (Spencer Hudson.) These two people are drawn together by murder and, as each of them finds closure and torment respectively, their lives and the outcomes of their ordeals take unexpected turns that will change both their lives even more. Personal Effects is not as straight forward a film as the plot description makes it sound. Reading like a straight forward revenge driven sort of film, it ends up playing more like a human drama and an examination of the course grief takes on the human psyche. All the same, writer/director David Hollander's film emerges as an unfulfilling experience, cheaply shot and with lead star Kutcher coming off as rather wooden at times. Though it explores it's themes with a certain sensitivity and subtle observation, the narrative flow fails to really hold together and the outcome is an uneven and unsatisfying film that leaves you more underwhelmed than emotionally drained. **

I've always wanted to see Ashton Kutcher in a drama. Sadly, his first drama is the complete piece of garbage, Personal Effects. Kutcher plays a man who plans to get revenge on the person who recently killed his sister. He meets a woman named Linda (Michelle Pfeiffer). This sets out a creepy relationship between a 24 year old and a 40 or 50-ish something year old. Kutcher and Pfeiffer are both at their worst, portraying stupid and unlikable characters. The movie is slow and boring, making me look at my watch every second. I didn't believe a second of the movie, these two people probably wouldn't be talking to each other, more or less falling in love with each other. Kathy Bates play Walter (Kutcher)'s mom, Gloria, and even a great actress like Bates is terrible in this movie. The film never lets a single actor show how good they are. It drifts into a painful thriller out of nowhere, as Kutcher seeks revenge. I thought this would be out of the movie, but apparently the movie is trying to have as many bad plots as possible for it. By the end, I just wanted to get away from this movie and its characters. It's too bad, too, this could have been a great mix of genres, but instead it is just dull. Do yourself a favor and skip Personal Effects.

Michelle Pfiefer, a wonderful actor, was awful. She didn't react much to anything that happened in the story. Kathy Bates had nothing to do. Taking part was a waste of her time. Ashton Kutcher really doesn't act. The story parts were a jumbled up mess like pieces of puzzles that came from different boxes. Could this movie be fixed? I doubt it. It should never have been made at all. Why are there good screenplays that never get off the shelf and something like gets made, including some good actors. Why did they even consider taking part after reading the first ten pages? The pieces of the story, the camera work, the characters were all in a fog. "Pieces" keep coming up as I write this. The story is filled with pieces that don't fit together. They don't make a good fractured story line either. Nothing could fix such a mess.

I usually don't watch Lifetime movies but it was a rare Saturday Night that i was home.. nothing else was on...the tube... Turned to Lifetime and saw an original TV film with Michelle Pfeifer was about to begin.."Personal Effects" The minute it stated I was hoooked... Love Michelle Pfeifer and she was excellent in the role of a somewhat older woman who falls for (through various circumstances) a younger man, played by Aston Kutcher ..now I've heard of him but had never (i thought seen him act ) Not only is he good looking and a"hunk" but he can really act he played the part of a confused somewhat depressed young man so well..I felt so sympathetic towards him ..Excellent performance know now, thanks to IMDb.that he's married to Demi Moore, and I did see him in "Bobby" and possibly the "70's Show". He was wonderful as was Michelle and the entire cast including Kathy Bates in another unbelievably good performance as "Kutcher's mom . Very adult quite graphic ,a bit violent but very well done and well acted.. The plot has a few implausabilities and was a bit confusing but stick with it... One of the best made for TV films I've seen in awhile Shown on the Lifetime Network

I do not mind taking a chance on a Director I am not familiar with when I see established names such as the luminous Michelle Pfeiffer and wonderful Kathy Bates. Having never seen a single thing Ashton Kutcher has been in, I had no opinion one way or another. After seeing this film it is clear, Mr Kutcher was a painful disappointment. It also seems quite plausible that the director of this film had a crush on him as I recall no less than a dozen close ups of his face and all long shots of Michelle P. You do not take the most beautiful face to grace the screen in the decades between Liz Taylor and Angelina Jolie and skip close-ups! ***Potential Spoilers*** In addition there is more to prove the director/screenwriter is new at his job. Clumsy attempts at "art house" moves such as, I kid you not, 3 separate eyeball close-ups, awkward hand-held cam, slow motions shots where they make no sense (going out for a cigarette requires slow motion?), scenes that were shot out of sequence (The verdicts of two separate trials come in backwards and at an implausible pace). It is obvious that either attempts were made to move the movie forward quickly or the writer ran out of scene ideas to develop these characters. I mean, what in the heck was the Niece character for, anyway?? Finally, there was no attempt to write about family dynamics before forcing these very different people together. All in all... a big no and further proof Hollywood cannot write for women over 40. The stars I give are for Pfeiffer, Bates and the boy who played Pfeiffers son.