VANILLA SKY

Well, that was disappointing.
The premise seemed interesting, the cast was great, and the director made it a must-see, but when all is said and done, I was disappointed.

Writer-director Cameron Crowe, whose Jerry Maguire I liked a lot, and whose ALMOST FAMOUS I absolutely loved, adapted this film from a Spanish film named Open Your Eyes (Abre Sus Ojos). So I guess I can’t really put the blame on him. Maybe it’s just the original story that I don’t particularly care for.

I definitely can’t blame the cast. Tom Cruise gave probably his best performance this side of Magnolia. Cameron Diaz is always awesome, whether in a crazy comedy like There’s Something About Mary, or in serious drama like this. Actually, she was one of the best things about one of my favorite romantic comedies too, My Best Friend’s Wedding.
Penelope Cruz did a nice job here. Maybe it’s just me, but her English seems to be getting better. Interestingly, she reprises her role from the Spanish version of this movie. For that reason I would consider seeing the original…to compare her character and performance…but I don’t think I will.
What I didn’t realize going in was that Jason Lee is in this. Heh, I like Jason Lee, even if he is pretty much always the same. Well, kinda. I think the most different role he ever played was his role in the aforementioned Almost Famous. I’m curious to see what he does with the role made famous by Chevy Chase in the new Fletch movie.

While I didn’t care for the story per se, a lot of Vanilla Sky was very interesting and like I said, the acting was great. Also, Crowe’s direction was very good. Kinda stylish, kinda flashy, but very intelligent and sophisticated.
I’m probably just being picky. I’m sure most people will probably like Vanilla Sky a lot.
But we can’t please every one all the time…

BACK TO MOVIES