Perry Kate Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Cortechba Overrated

Sanjeev Waters A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

arfdawg-1 When his journal of bright ideas is stolen, college freshman Bickford Schmeckler (Fugit) has to blanket the campus in order to locate it.Boring slow movie.You won't care one bit about anyone in the film.And you'll care less about the story.The only good thing is that it's only a hour and 15 minutes.But the other side of that is it feels like 10 hours.It's moronic and idiotic.In short, it's a monumental fail.Sort of like boiled meat.

meaninglessbark Pot smoking is seen all through the film Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas and based on the generally pointless, rambling, and dull quality of the film it would seem that all the bongs and pot weren't set props but were equipment used to make the film.The storyline had to be conceived while stoned, that's if it was actually fully conceived before the film began shooting. It seems just as likely that shooting began and the story was made up one bong hit at a time.The gist of the story is that Bickford Shmeckler wrote a "book" which is so full of astounding concepts about life, the universe, and everything that it changes the lives of almost anyone who reads it. (Only the barest hint of these "cool ideas" are ever actually revealed to the audience.) Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas isn't really sure of what sort of film it's supposed to be. At times it seems it's a moronic party comedy, at times it tries to be serious. But whatever it tries it fails on all accounts.The characters are flat and lifeless, which doesn't seem to be the fault of the actors, it definitely feels like bad writing and direction.The attempts at humor (which include a scene where a handful of gay slurs are shared, one sight gag with a person in a wheelchair, and a mentally ill character included for the sake of zaniness) also fail. That includes the terrible idea to name the title character Bickford Shmeckler. (I laughed once during the film, 34 minutes into it. Shortly after that the only thing visually interesting in the film happens when...SPOILER ALERT...Bickford suddenly stabs a meat fork into a cantaloupe. It was also the film's only genuine moment.) What makes this film worth disliking is that there was a chance to explore some interesting ideas here such as people embracing pop theology/ideology in a manner that's just as mindless as their lives before exposure to the new ideas. Or people wanting to embrace trinkets such as hats and t-shirts as an expression of their beliefs. Or the discovery of a writer who doesn't want to be discovered and who definitely doesn't want to be the leader of some new quasi-religion based on his writing. In fact Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas so completely misses making a point (or even telling an interesting story) that this "story" could be turned into an entirely different, much better film.

Sailinship Although I found this movie to be fun and somewhat inspiring, it might make you do that thing you've been wanting to do but haven't, it lacks real smarts. The theories he has are never really talked about in any way that will bring you to new thoughts. He just doesn't come across as a mad scientist/philosopher because he never says anything scientific or philosophical.It does feel good because it has that angsty virgin thing who gets together with a gorgeous woman because of his ideas, and that is something we can relate to, but it's just not smart. I never heard a simple list of ideas, a rundown of why he is perplexed, a question or a theory. His character has problems to deal with, but they are revealed in one moment and then that scene is forgotten. If that is why he is so perplexed about how to be happy, then it should have been a persistent look on his face, an explanation that is revealed as to why he does things so differently than the rest of us. This kid in the movie is not weird or even nerdy, he's regular and boring. Even his anger is silly. The one real "crazy" person in the movie, an actor who I hope will find his "reality" one day, is presented in a way that demeans what it is to be truly different. Even the not selling out idea is... Well, just not inspirational. The token gay is silly as well, his coming out comes across as disingenuous and devoid of any feeling. I did have fun watching it though, and I suspect that that has more to do with the beauty of Olivia Wilde, who is, a stone cold fox. It is hard to watch her in any scene and not question where a woman so beautiful comes from and what exactly makes her so damn good to look at.

Kally I loved this movie. Although my opinion is biased on the fact that I adore Patrick Fugit and would be pleased with anything he was cast in. I was greatly impressed by Olivia Wilde's performance on the big screen, as I had only seen her on a few episodes of The O.C. I found the theories in 'The Book' itself to be 'brain-gasmic' and quite thoughtful. Surly something I, myself, would have wanted to read if there were such a book published.I gave the movie and overall 8 because, although I was excited to see Patrick, the plot was slow and I wasn't quite satisfied with the ending of the film.