Customer Reviews

Me and You and Everyone We Know

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

Finally! A movie that addresses on almost every age level, the effects of our current internet daze age. For the young children, life consists of going home everyday after school to try and talk and chat and connect with cyber folks. For the teenagers, sex is misunderstood again and again, and the fantasy/reality dilemma continues to leave them feeling lonely. And for the adults, well...the problems are almost the same just with more complexities and ambiguities."Me And You And Everyone We Know" should not work as well as it does. It takes so many risks that could've potentially ruined its own subject matter and themes, but yet, Miranda July's direction takes the uncomfortable (and seemingly 'normal American life') and turns it on its head with surprising and shocking comic side effects. Thankfully though, July never sacrifices the humanity of her characters at the expense of merely getting a laugh. Throughout "Me And You And Everyone We Know," there is a kind of subtle, beautiful melancholy mood woven through the words and actions of every character. Again, considering how provocative and unsettling at times the script is, this seems like a minor miracle. Exploring how the internet and cell phones and technology at large has contributed to isolated individual experiences is just one of the film's many themes. Like the one very rich and very simple scene from the film conveys, me and you and everyone we know are like tiny specs on pieces of paper with a small, but seemingly infinite amount of space between us.Although far from perfect and far from being a cinematic masterpiece, "Me And You" wins at the end of the day because of the very common place from which it begins. Throughout every quirky scene and heartbreaking moment, it remains loyal to its subjects (on both sides of the screen).

Miranda July's first film (she both wrote and directed) "Me and You and Everyone We Know" is a personal, thoughtful and humane film about how difficult it is for people to get together in these tumultuous times in which we live...and despite all the obstacles, we still manage to do so: Richard (John Hawkes, so good in HBO's "Deadwood") and Christine (Miranda July) meet "cute" while Christine is with a friend buying a pair of shoes and Richard is the shoe salesman.
Christine almost freaks Richard out.ok...she does freak him out after their initial meeting by "accidentally" always being where Richard is: Christine, in her eagerness to get to know Richard, almost slips into stalker behavior. But this is more a sign of our times.i.e. how difficult it is to meet someone nice, July is saying rather than anything unnatural on Christine's part. And Richard is as lonely as Christine. And they form a bond. They build a fence against all that can go wrong in the world: lying, cheating, not enough money, career problems...all the negative stuff that can clog your life as a whole and your love life in particular. As Richard says early in the film: "I'm prepared for amazing things to happen." And so it does: in the form of Christine.
"Me and You and Everyone We Know" is as sunny, optimistic and loving as a film can be and you leave the theater actually feeling better than when you walked in. But this film is no Pollyanna: Your good feelings come with a price: only after a good fight with the evil forces of the world. And in this case it isn't Dark Vader, The Scarecrow or a pack of Zombies, it's from the vagaries and detritus of the world in which we live: the stuff that lurks out there waiting to defeat you. But Richard and Christine, somehow, someway work as a couple as they never did as individuals...good for them.

This film is not for everyone and I appreciate the insights in some of the negative reviews. However, it would be unfortunate if such reviews put off viewers to who might otherwise connect with the film. I will try to offer a more successful reading.

The movie's most self-referential scene involves the playful conversation between the two lead characters as they walk to their respective cars. In offering their respective interpretations of the walk, they each take chances by playing a game at the risk that the other will not play along. It is precisely this vulnerability of the characters that makes the characters so endearing and the main narrative so romantic. By taking the risks and playing along with the conversation, they each reveal to the other a common openness to a shared way of relating to the world. By extension, through the entire film Miranda July takes risks, asking the viewer "this is game that I am playing, are you willing to play along?"

A less central but significant scene recognizes that not everyone is willing to play along. An awkward and unsuccessful conversation in the intimate setting of a female character's bathroom between two recently separated characters presents them as each good and decent individuals who simply cannot connect with one another successfully. I take this sympathetic representation of the separated wife as one of the most admirable dimensions of the film. It celebrates the playful artistic stance of the two main characters, the quality that brings them together and allows them to connect, while respecting the alternative ways that other characters relate to the world around them.

The scene in which "you" and "me" move toward and away from one another captures the theme that runs through the interactions of various characters in the movie. Yes, the characters experience various forms of rejection or unsuccessful attempts to connect with others. However, nothing tragic happens to anyone who breathes though lungs rather than gills. For instance, two teenagers running distractedly down the middle of a street could easily have met unhappily with another character driving her car in a funk after partially obstructing her windshield. They did not. At bottom, Miranda July presents an optimistic world in which connecting is tough and brings painful disappointments but perseverance is ultimately rewarded. Living and loving are hard but the world is not ultimately hostile to either.

Two scenes involving a bird in a tree bracket the film, symbolizing an openness to be moved by aesthetic pleasures that extend beyond practical concerns. After receiving inadequate or incorrect explanations of a clanging sound heard early in the morning, the youngest character sets out under the bird image to discover the truth by direct investigation. He meets a kindly buss passenger who gives him the coin he had been clanging against the bus signpost. So, the character gets to the factual, literal truth of the matter. Then as the character clangs the post, the sun rises, echoing an earlier explanation given by his mother but on a more magical level. Clanging the coin signals the sun to rise. With that leap the character steps beyond the mundane into the playful stance of the artist: The childlike willingness to find more in the world than what is actually there is the wellspring of artistic creativity. "This is the game that I am playing, are you willing to play along?"

This movie is fantastic, period. Each scene is so colourful and humourous and touching. What makes this movie so good to me are all the little, seconds-long moments of weirdness/sadness/cuteness which really (cheesy as it sounds) Touch Your Heart. Keep an eye out for the goldfish scene, the talking picture-frame scene, and the mug scene for an idea of what i'm talking about. And the little boy who plays the part of the younger son is phenomenal. i am usually annoyed by child actors but this little boy is so genuine and lovable. you would never, ever know that the things coming out of his mouth are pre-scripted lines. i ended up liking and caring about every single character and, more than that, feeling really moved by the visuals and the aforesaid asides that come and go so quickly.

i appreciate this movie the same way i might appreciate a beautiful photograph- with respect and wonder.

Richard (John Hawkes) is a recently separated father of two boys, with a romantic, decidedly impractical personality. Christine (Miranda July) is an aspiring performance artist who falls in love with Richard when he sells her some shoes. But Richard doesn't seem keen on a new relationship at this moment. Meanwhile, his co-worker Andrew (Brad William Henke) is carrying on a strange flirtation with teenagers Rebecca (Najarra Townsend) and Heather (Natasha Slayton), who are classmates of Richard's son Peter (Miles Thompson). Peter and younger brother Robby (Brandon Ratcliff) are messing around in internet sex chatrooms. Sylvie (Carlie Westerman), a fastidious young neighbor, is planning way ahead for her life as a homemaker..

I thought "Me and You and Everyone We Know" was going to be a 2-star movie for the first half hour, in which a lot of aimless people have aimless conversations, seemingly in slow motion. But the film became watchable as the child characters became more prominent, bringing humor and interesting personalities to a story whose lead characters generate no interest whatsoever. You would have to like Christine and Richard to like the film, and they fell completely flat for me. But the kids are its saving grace. Brandon Ratcliffe as Robbie is especially natural and charming. Miranda July, who wrote and directed the film as well as stars in it, takes an intelligent, respectful approach to children, which I think is the film's strength. It's weakness is that this is extremely self-indulgent filmmaking. "Me and You and Everyone We Know" is a quirky take on how people of various ages and personalities try to connect to one another in various ways for an assortment of reasons.

The DVD (MGM 2005): The only bonus features are 6 deleted scenes. Subtitles are available for the film in English.

Self-consciously "arty" at every turn, it's easy to see why many people love "Me and You and Everyone We Know"--but it's just as easy for me to see why people also loathe this film. Performance artist Miranda July has fashioned a piece about urban disconnect and lost souls and has populated it with quirky characters and outlandish situations. And while many compare the tone of the film to a Todd Solondz picture, to me it doesn't have quite the same brash in-your-face entertainment style. July's piece is quieter and more contemplative.

"Quirky" has become the new curse on the indie film scene. There are an abundance of films that work with outlandish character types--we're supposed to be instantly charmed. But for all the films that utilize this formula, few are really successful (for me, two diverse examples would be Solondz's "Happiness" or even "Junebug"). And while July doesn't quite reach those heights, there is still plenty to be admired in her first effort.

One very smart choice is that everything is underplayed! The situations aren't particularly believable, but the feelings elicited from them have a truth and sweetness. I used the phrase "finding the realness in unreality" in another review, and I think it's apt here too. While I didn't believe many of the plot points were realistic, there was still a thoughtfulness and heart behind them--and I think there are parts of the film that will stay with you.

The actors are uniformly good. Again, the success of the film rests on it's subtlety. Most of the performances were understated, it was as if life were just unfolding around these characters. Had any of this been played broadly, it would have been disastrous. For those concerned about the elements some label as "child pornography or exploitation," serious minded viewers have nothing to get worked up over. Sexuality and children do not exist in different worlds, as much as some would like--and it's no crime to illustrate a sexual curiosity on film. The intent of the film is clear, there is a purity and innocence within-- even if some are disturbed by the implication.

I didn't fall in love with this film, but it was never less than interesting. It succeeded in my mind, but it's for a particular audience--and even that audience seems to be divided. Is it pretentious or is it art? Those who know me realize I ask that question a lot--this film leans a little in both directions. It's 3 1/2 stars from me, which I'll round up for nicely nuanced performances from the younger, more unknown actors. KGHarris, 11/06.

As I started watching this film, I was almost prepared to dismiss it as another indie film with little plot and cutsey, quirky characters. This one, however, grew on me as it went on. Me and You and Everyone We Know, written, directed and starring Miranda July, has a truly distinctive style. I've seen it twice, and actually liked it better the second time, always a good recommendation for a film. The mediocre ones --the vast majority-- do not stand up to multiple viewings, at least for me. I think what makes it work is that it is not merely straining to be offbeat and original for the sake of it, but truly has a voice and style of its own. The film follows the awkwardly blossoming romance between Christine (July), a performance artist who makes a living by running a taxi service for the elderly and Richard (John Hawkes), a recently separated shoe salesman. Richard has two children who engage in some romantic and sexual explorations of their own. This aspect of the film might make some viewers uncomfortable, but demonstrates July's willingness to explore issues not often dealt with in most films.

There are scenes and dialogue in this film that are unlikely to occur in real life. For example, when Christine and Richard meet outside of the mall where he works, they immediately fall into a poetic conversation about how the street names symbolize a timeline in their imaginary love affair. These two characters have barely met, and are unlikely to engage in such a conversation. Yet, taken as a whole, the film has a slightly surrealistic bent, so you are best off not watching it with realistic expectations. There is a consistent idiosyncratic rhythm to this film, as well as a warmth that does not descend into sentimentality. Overall, Me and You and Everyone We Know is about how lonely people connect or fail to connect in modern society. This is a familiar theme for films to take on, but this one does it in a way that reaches the viewer in an original way that is alternately sad, funny and uplifting.

I suppose you could call this film quirky, but that would be to do it a disservice. Funny, charming, endearing and at times distressing, the film follows several characters whose lives intersect at various points: a newly divorced father, his two young sons, a male co-worker, a very young girl living next door, two very precocious teenage girls, an art gallery manager and a budding female video performance artist who moonlights as a taxi driver for the elderly (Miranda July). All the characters are suffering from varying degrees of isolation and loneliness - needing someone to love and be loved by in return, someone to talk to, listen to or someone just to be comfortably with.

The plot of the movie is rather thin - basically a slice of life. You just follow these characters episodically as they go about their daily lives. The primary story line revolves around Christine, the performance artist, and Richard, a ladies shoe salesman and recently divorced father. Christine becomes smitten with Richard on an outing with one of her elderly clients. These two people are obviously attracted to each other, but any attempts to meet and take it to the next step are awkward and hampered. The action in the film is grounded in reality based situations - conversations between characters, little scenes of home-life, minor skirmishes and victories. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed these characters. When they exhibited self-destructive behavior or dubious judgment, you feel quite alarmed for them.

When the film first opens, you meet Richard (John Hawkes), whose marriage has just broken up and who is in the process of moving out of the house he previously occupied with his wife and two young sons. The wife is curt and uncommunicative and his boys, Peter (Miles Thompson) and Robby (Brandon Ratcliff), are shut up in their bedroom. Concerned that his sons are suffering in silence, he decides to perform a poorly remembered magic trick to commemorate the occasion for them and winds up seriously injuring himself. Initially, I was a little concerned about the father character and the direction of the movie. This is quite an alarming scene and, when I first saw it, I thought this guy shouldn't be put in charge of walking the dog let alone raising two boys. However, this turns out to be an isolated incident of colossally poor judgment, and you soon learn that, although shell shocked and a bit damaged, he is really a very sweet and likeable man. In fact, most of the behavior in the film involves emotional and physical clumsiness of one sort or another and the frequently inappropriate attempts of the characters to connect with others and the world around them.

Peter and Robby, left on their own while their father is at work, get into mischief by playing on the computer and enter into a dialogue with someone in a sex-oriented chat room. In one session, the older son allows his little brother to direct the conversation. Being preoccupied with bodily functions, as most little kids are, the chat takes a decidedly scatological direction. The conversation is both hilarious and twisted. Both boys are quiet, extremely likeable and so young (14 and 7, respectively) you feel that they cannot possibly understand the dangers involved in such a correspondence.

All of the actors are wonderful in the film. John Hawkes is the perfect Everyman, struggling to be a good person, a good father and keep himself open to the possibility of another romance - and not always getting it right. I hope this film brings him the recognition he deserves. Miranda July is a jewel. She is the writer, the director and stars in the movie - and she doesn't shortchange on any role. The pacing is crisp and you stay interested in each character's story arc. The two actors who play John Hawkes' sons are the most natural child actors I have ever seen. There is nothing over-the-top or self-conscious about their performances. You really feel you are just observing them. Each character is flawed but interesting, and Miranda July treats them with tenderness.

Anthropologically, men and woman may not be pack or herd animals but we definitely need one another. We don't do that well on our own. We need to connect with others, but don't want to feel the pain that experience teaches us comes from getting to know people. It can be quite a balancing act. The characters in Miranda July's film are at least willing to risk the attempt.

This is just a marvelous work, trenchant and magical. Critics of its use of children and sexuality ought to shut the hell up, because it's obvious some scenes were achieved through simple editing without the kids necessarily having direct knowledge of what the audience is watching. Right? Anyway, MJ was terrific. Too bad she didn't stick a commentary track on this dvd.

I enjoyed this movie. It reminded me of watching a pond and suddenly seeing a fish break the surface momentarially only to disappear below. The movie presents the lives of ordinary, but offers glimpses into the entropy swimming below the surfaces of our exteriors. For example, Richard's conversation regarding his ex-wife blips when he blurts "I'm ready for Amazing things to happen!", or why an 8 year old girl feels she needs to collect a dowery. half the draw of this film is trying to decifer what below the surface of these characters.