MamaGravity good back-story, and good acting

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

cetaylor3 Perhaps my biggest fascination with this movie was how it carried off its key theme, which (being the basis of the film's title) would seem to be blatant and yet, as I perceived it, not so. Other films have taken up the notion of celebrity as curse in a way that hits the viewer over the head far less subtly than "Lucky Them" manages. The link to the theme hinges first, on a line tossed off as a rueful aside by Ellie (Collette) upon learning of the predisposition of a wild, rare Galapagos Bush Baby - ironically captured and caged as a wedding gift - who Ellie feels for as being surely lonely, projecting a key element of her own trajectory, only to be told that Galapagos Bush Babies prefer to be "left alone." "Lucky them." Indeed - and if only. The price for not being left alone by invasive, self-serving humans is that the bush baby winds up dead, apparently of gift-wrapped suffocation. Second, when we finally come, as Ellie does, face to face with the elusive-and-mostly-presumed-dead mystery protagonist in the story's plot line, the nearly wordless sudden release of mystery and tension, comes as if a hot air balloon had been punctured, with a reverberating unstated "ohhhhhh" epiphany (of Ellie's) that some celebrities truly indeed are not kidding when they say they prefer to be "left alone." And we, like Ellie, are left to piece together the realization of just what lengths an exalted celebrity had to go to in order to find that preferred peace - faking his death, withdrawing from all public notice, yet still speculated upon in Elvis-like fashion as to sightings circulated by internet. Ellie's own life had lived out a flip side of that celebrity coin, where she has been unable to move on in the decade-plus in which she has been 'stuck' in the wake of that faked death, in part because she tried to get around (drink it away) rather than plunging through the haunting mystery and sense of abandonment. When she has finally succeeded in tracking down the mystery, the 'aha' moment includes the realization that the escape via faked death was an exercise of free-will that wasn't personal (the irony echoes that she'd told upcoming celebrity Lucas that her standoffishness "wasn't personal"). She must finally see the abandonment on its merits and we sense her almost instantly respect it for what it was meant to be and to accomplish - and so now she "fakes" her write-up accordingly so as to honor his free will to have the life he chose. It seems that this choice by Ellie now shows up in her own demeanor before her editor with the fake story in hand. It seems that we leave Ellie suddenly seeming at peace with herself and with a better chance at becoming her own version of a "lucky them" than she has ever known: more irony: a fake story covering up a fake death may have given her too a chance to start a new chapter.While that mystery and damning sense of having been abandoned as some kind of indictment on her had persisted, the Ellie we've witnessed throughout the film had shown the restless angst of someone who does not feel in control of her life's path but rather darts after deus ex machinas of sorts (mostly in the form of convenient lovers). Now, seeing with profound clarity how her long-lost lover had regained control over his destiny on his own terms in the most reversal-of-course kinds of ways, she seems to have caught a glimmer and inspiration for what it takes and means to regain control over her own destiny.So, as I see it, the film is ultimately a fresh take on a recurrent filmic treatment of life's priorities – and of the follies or shallow unfulfilling rewards of what is thought of materially as "success." But it's an existential treatment here that reminds that even the most stuck-in-success of celebrities has a choice - and not the self-destructive choice of an Elvis opting for what would seem to have been a slow suicidal escape from limelight through overindulgence but one that was affirmative of an alternate existence honoring one's true self that had gotten lost in such limelight. That the lead character worked for a magazine whose raison d'etre was capitalizing on limelight and "success," seeking stories that twist their way into notoriety - and that she was edited by a man (Platt) so immersed in that definition of life that his own need for escape (into pot) was depicted as addictive and consuming - served to add irony to the message, given that the film positions us from the outset to accept their occupational goals as legitimate lenses through which to see the story and to seek the demystification of the iconic, disappeared celebrity. It's through the lead character's combined professional and personal converging epiphany that she and we come round to the existential reminder that what gets lived out (by any of us) as if irreversible fate can be altered by an exercise of free will.

kaladan I caught this movie by recording it off of one of the pay channels. Like many movies I had little expectation for the quality of this movie; however, the cast had me hoping and I was not disappointed. I found this movie to be very moving and bitter sweet. It is a movie that requires a viewer to have lived life to some degree, and have experienced some moments lost to the years that creep into memories now and again. This movie evoked similar feelings within me. A challenge that is not easily accomplished anymore.Though a buddy movie in the typical sense, this movie is about Toni Collette looking back on her life to discover she is living the same relationship again and again. I do recommend this movie for others, especially those that might have some "I wonder moments" in their lives.

leonblackwood Review: I wasted so much time watching this film because I kept on falling asleep and I found the storyline quite silly. Its about a music critic whose hunting for an artist whose been missing for ages. The artist is also her ex boyfriend so the journey is also about closure because everyone things that he died in a car accident. A video of the artist performing on stage was put on the social media, so a rumour starts going around that the man is still alive. She then shows the video to her boss who wants a big story for his magazine so he funds her journey to find this well known artist. There are other aspects to the story, like when she falls in love with a busker and her new found rich friend who helps fund the journey after she loses her funds, but it really doesn't help this dull movie which really wasn't that funny. I honestly found the main character, whose played by Toni Collette, quite annoying and I really didn't have that much sympathy for her. She just seemed to float around, sleeping with men whilst barking orders at her new found friend, whose played by Thomas Haden Church and was the best thing in the film. I also couldn't get the whole point of the film because there really isn't an outcome. It just seems to end abruptly without much explanation or moral to the storyline. Anyway, the performances wasn't bad but the storyline was weak and a drag to watch. Disappointing!Round-Up: I'm usually a fan of Toni Collette's work but this has to go down as a bad day at the office. She has progressed so much since the popular Muriel's Wedding and she has put it great performances in movies like the Sixth Sense and Little Miss Sunshine but she hasn't really been on the big screen that much lately. In this movie I didn't really like her character that much but that's due to the script, which was pretty poor. There are some other goods performances from Oliver Platt and Thomas Haden Church but they really got wasted in this attempt of a roadie comedy. I recommend this movie to people who are into their comedy/dramas about a music critic who hunts for a famous missing musician, whose also her ex boyfriend, for a story to print in a magazine. 3/10

Pamela Powell Toni Collette truly has a thousand faces. She can be the insecure divorcée or the frumpy mum in A LONG WAY DOWN. And now she is this character of the hip music critic who is still gorgeous at 40-something and can shag a twenty-something with a just a flash of her smile as bait. I'm not sure who has had more fun in the roles she has had recently: Toni Collette or Julianne Moore. Ms. Moore starred in THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT with Mark Ruffalo and in DON JON with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Whew! Let's hear it for women my age snagging awesome, fun, and sexy roles that are still emotionally intelligent with depth of character.Collette's character, Ellie, is a music critic who has been in the business for a lifetime. As a youngster, she met and fell in love with an up and coming rock star, Matthew Smith, who made a significant impact upon the music scene. Unfortunately, he disappeared; an apparent suicide, but never found. Ellie, a good decade later, still trying to find the next upcoming star, is floundering in her job. She is assigned to investigate and find Matthew Smith who has been "spotted" performing not far from her location. Reluctantly, and under the "promise" of getting fired if she didn't conform, Ellie takes on this assignment with the a little help from her friends.Ellie is a very complex character who wants nothing more than to be loved and to give love in return, but she has been burned too badly by Matthew. In her bar hopping search, she happens upon someone with promise, but her want of love supersedes her intellectual side. She begins a relationship with the unplugged guitar hero Lucas. But Ellie is Ellie: older, not necessarily wiser. And we watch as she makes one decision after another that are not necessarily good ones. With an old acquaintance who has more time and money on his hands than the Elton John, Ellie receives a bit of help with strings attached: Charlie is allowed to begin his documentary filmmaking career with the search for Matthew Smith. As Ellie is at her rope's end, she agrees. The story follows Ellie along this path of discovery with interesting side stories of love for herself as well as Charles' eccentricities.This is a very entertaining film with such depth and creativity that I was captivated from the very beginning. Collette is wonderful. She is rock-solid gorgeous and believable as the hip music critic who has been jaded by love. Thomas Haden Church is a character I've not seen before. He is a pretentious, rich nerd who is rather desperate in the love department. In fact, he is rather blinded by love, but so innocent about it that his pretentiousness becomes endearing. Throw into the mix, Oliver Platt as the ever-loving editor and the film is perfectly set. With the self- discovery of our two main characters this film is completely satisfying. The film, co-written by Huck Botko and Emily Wachtel with the original idea by Caroline Sherman, is directed by Megan Griffiths. It's a bit of a quirky film, tackling a familiar story in a unique and interesting way. Collette is an extremely versatile actress who continues to show her range of abilities and I'm guessing, is having a lot of fun doing so! The music is enticing and even enchanting at times to match the mood and fluctuations of the movie perfectly.LUCKY THEM is a movie that will appeal to music lovers and film lovers alike. It's a strong cast with an equally powerful story. This film is recommended for over 20′s as I don't think the teen population would understand or relate to the topics. And if you're my age (40's) and female, you are going to love it! Cheers to Toni Collette!