SunnyHello
Nice effects though.
Staci Frederick
Blistering performances.
Francene Odetta
It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
Pozdnyshev
Where did this guy get the time and money to go on this guided worldwide tour? I dunno. What did he learn at the end? "To be human is to be constantly learning." DURRR, OKAY. So after setting out to find what the meaning of life is, he didn't seem to learn anything. This is very disappointing. I mean, the movie is one fairly interesting monologue after another by spiritual leaders and scientists, but this guy who's supposedly on a quest for meaning never has ANYTHING to say about it all. He's like a guy who visits a bunch of weight rooms without lifting one dumbbell, then somehow thinks he accomplished something.I didn't like this guy very much. He doesn't DO anything. He just asks a bunch of people what the meaning of life is before flitting off to friggin' eat and repeat the process with someone else. He's not intriguing, he doesn't tell us his thoughts on all this information, doesn't do any work to ask HIMSELF these questions. It's almost like a male Eat Pray Love, except he doesn't get laid. The palpable disrespect and confusion some of the interviewees felt towards him made me uncomfortable, particularly the turbaned Sikhs staring at him -- I expected them to just shush him and ask him "what are you DOING here, man? What do you WANT? I know you see us as one more dish on a spiritual buffet, but we take this seriously."His choice of people to interview was weird. He couldn't find a "spiritual guru" who wasn't horrifyingly fat and swore a lot? He respects diversity so much that he lumps in Satanism with Christianity and Buddhism? Moron, why don't you lump in Yoga with murder, since they both involve moving your body. His approach to religion is condescending, undiscriminating, and reeks of the typical juvenile peremptory scoffing you see today. Whatever this guy is looking for, he should have saved the money he spent on this dog and got in shape instead, while looking for spiritual answers by actually studying and practicing them.
Nick Palmer
What happens when a dumb person tries to make a movie about complex questions? You're looking at it.There's nothing to be gained from watching this. Nygard gathers tiny sound bytes from hundreds of people ranging from priests to his screenwriter buddy to some mentally unstable dude who shouts things at strangers on the street, then pastes them together, thinking complete incoherence will somehow add up to something profound.Instead, you get meaningless, obvious conclusions that have less to say than those "Coexist" bumper stickers. We all need love and faith of some kind in our lives? Really? That's a profound thought? Nygard emerges as a self-promoting dim-wit, who manages to awkwardly shoehorn himself into every scene. He clearly wants to be the next Michael Moore/Morgan Spurlock, but lacks the intelligence or humor to pull it off. Total waste of time.
Mike B
This is a smörgåsbord of various belief sets. It's entertaining and funny. There are some very quotable quotes and some that are rather less so. It's very rapid fire which I did have a problem with – I prefer more of an interview style. But the pay-off is the wide diversity of religions presented. He travels the U.S. in search of answers and continues this in China and India (which is a real blast!). He does drop by briefly in Jerusalem and Italy to pick up a few tidbits.I will probably watch it again at a later date for some more insights, because there are so many prophets, soothsayers, preachers, gurus spouting there little pearls of wisdom that I may indeed get a revelation (but I doubt it!)
jfb-793-678220
While the title and synopsis sound very intriguing, Nygard fails to deliver on this one. The viewer is taken on a narcissistic personal journey of the filmmaker that yields very little substantial information. Sure, there are a lot of strange people and odd opinions paraded in front of you, but they all amount to mere sound bites. Just when you think Nygard has uncovered something interesting and you anxiously await more, he cuts away to a completely different sound bite, and he does this quite often throughout the film. It becomes annoying and leaves one to wonder if the best parts of the film were left on the cutting room floor. Another problem for me was the absence of African religions, whether in Africa or in Cuba, Haiti, or Brazil. Steven Hawking had no interest in this film and neither do I. I tried and tried (I watched it twice) but I just couldn't like this movie.
