Customer Reviews

Your Friends & Neighbors [VHS]

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

by any stretch of the viewers' imagination! Director Neil LaBute does not seek to entertain, but to expose, in this morality play, I think.

There are six players in the film version of social-sexual arrogance. Initially, you view them with varying degrees of interest, but by the end of the film, you dislike all of them, some more than most.

LaBute, with slightly more budget than he had for his breakthrough debut, "In the Company of Men" (ICM), uses it wisely to attract excellent role-players, then films it well, in all indoor, and slightly claustrophobic settings. He continues his theme of the cruelty of the alpha male, to both the other sex, and his own male friends.

Although each of the actors plays well (I particularly liked Aaron Eckhart, playing against type and doing a "180" from his role in ICM, as a poorly groomed, chubby and needy husband and friend) there is no question that the film is sought out by film afficianados to observe the performance of Jason Patric.
From the opening scene, Patric makes your skin crawl at the depths of his ability to hate the fairer sex. His hold over Stiller & Eckhart's characters is resonant in the fascinating steam room scene. Patric, deliberately cruel, is self-assured enough to fall into reverie about his infliction of power in a past homosexual rape. His intensity and believability make you wonder why Colin Farrell is getting all the good roles when Patric is a far more powerful actor.

In this film, LaBute does not exceed his earlier work (ICM) but puts us on warning that he is a force to be reckoned with in filmmaking.

A caution; most filmgoers will abhor this film. My recommendation is to see it for the experience, not the entertainment.

This film follows the interrelations of six "friends" as they grope for self-fulfillment, usually at each other's expense. This is a grim, often ugly exploration of selfishness, featuring characters that somehow never developed the sense of empathy or generosity that enables one human being to connect with another on more than a superficial level. They equate being happy with being in a position of power over others wherein they are able to gratify their urges of the moment. When their behavior fails to make them happy, they become more jaded and sad and convinced that happiness is only a fantasy. A possible exception is the chilling sociopath played by Jason Patric, who appears to be entirely satisfied with his reprehensible conduct. In a cast of dislikable characters, he emerges as one of the most loathsome figures I have ever seen in a film. Perhaps not coincidentally, he is also the alpha among the film's male characters.

Director/writer Neil LaBute's dialogue is sharp and telling. This is a serious and courageous exploration of the dark side of human nature.

I liked this movie because it is original, and you get very absorbed in the characters. The acting is very good, the story ties together, and it holds your attention. Best of all, at least for those who appreciate dark humor, this is very comical. It is, in my personal opinion, a brilliant, well directed film.

There are objectionable, even reprehensible qualities to human beings, urban life, modern relationships, etc. What makes this film a five-star for me is 1) how these qualities are held up to the light and observed and 2) the stellar acting job on behalf of the cast. I felt uncomfortable as if I was evesdropping on these morally ambiguous urbanites. Katherine Keener, that sweetheart of independent movies is a real cold, abrupt person in this and convincingly so. Amy Brenneman was such a believable fallen robin, I just wanted to scoop her up off the screen and nurture her. I could say a ton more, but Roger Ebert sums it up perfectly in his review. You can read it and others at the movie review query engine

"Your Friends and Neighbors" is a dark, risque comedy about five people who are so self-centered that their ability to have a meaningful relationship is limited, at best. The movie doesn't always work, but when it does, it's brilliant. It also suffers by comparison to writer-director Neil LaBute's much admired first effort, In the Company of Men.

LaBute contends that egocentric people are, in many ways, very much alike. In fact, he named his characters Mary, Barry, Terri, Cherri, Gary and Jerry. Such people, he says, are not only obsessed with getting their own way, but also tend to want the same things over and over again. Since no one can give them these things, they are never satisfied.

Jerry [Ben Stiller] is a drama teacher who has an affair with his best friend's wife, Mary [Amy Brenneman]. While the affair ends practically before it begins, it causes Jerry's girlfriend, Terri [Catherine Keener], to have an affair with Cherri [Natassja Kinski]. Mary's husband, Barry [Aaron Eckhart], does a lot of soul searching, which always ends in his asking, "Is it me?" Meanwhile, the totally vain doctor, Gary [Jason Patric], stirs up this brew as much as he can, because other people's flaws keep him from dealing with his own, which are major. Their stories are both funny and sad.

LaBute directs in the style of realism, which means his performers act very much as people in real life would. There are a lot of conversational pauses and blank looks to show that no one is really comprehending what others are saying. Many viewers will find this irritating. We have been brainwashed by Hollywood's glossy, perfect characters who bond with one another by tossing off witless one-lines and cliches. Or they make a short, noble speech, and everything is cozy again. Life, of course, ain't that simple. If it were, we could get through it in two hours.

Your Friends and Neighbors is low budget. It sometimes seems like a filmed play. The actors are an ensemble, and several have worked with LaBute before. They are all very good. Especially interesting are Jason Patric and Ben Stiller, who, despite their commercial successes, remain true actors. Patric was spellbinding last year in Incognito, as was Stiller in Zero Effect. [These were two of 1998's very best independent films and worth adding tou your DVD collection.]

This movie is recommended for people who take movies seriously, at least from time to time. It is the type of film which can not be called an entertainment, but which stays with the viewer long after the big but trite pictures have faded from memory.

This is Neil LaBute's more lavish but no less vitriolic follow-up to "In the Company of Men". Whereas that film had a documentary sense of realism to it, this one feels very much like a play. Although nothing mystical happens, there's a sense of surreality that coats this film. From the opening music, an oddly appealing version of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" played on four cellos by a quartet called Apocalyptica, to the main titles, which are superimposed over a sedate Alex Katz print called "The Cocktail Party", we enter a world of wealth and culture. Only under the glossy surface beats a soulless heart.

Witness an early dinner scene. Two couples meet at one's swanky townhouse, exchange pleasantries and share glasses of wine. The women are smartly dressed. The men are too (one of them laments a spill on his new doeskin jacket). But they never connect in a tangible way. Until, that is, an offer of infidelity is confidentially proffered. The movie uses this moment to jump off into a world where everyone (but one) appears stable but all are ineffectual and socially retarded. This point is further driven home by a series of scenes set in an art gallery, where each character uses the same verbatim small talk with an artist's assistant to expose significant aspects of their character. They're artificial moments, but delicately set up the tone of the film. The cast is uniformly excellent, if not overly mannered, which further helps create the feeling that you're watching a play rather than a film. Ben Stiller's character represents this the best, not just because he's a drama professor. He is erudite and articulate when "performing", such as when lecturing his students, or giving a tour of a museum. But when he gets into social situations, Stiller fails to complete a single one of his thoughts. Most of his sentences trail off, ending with the question "You know?" or just a resigned sigh. It's an evocative (if a touch shallow) character trait, but damn if it doesn't get annoying by film's end. I had this intense desire to slap Ben good.

Aaron Eckhart sports a $2 haircut, a cheesy moustache, and a bulging gut. He's playing a character exactly opposite to his toxic Chad from "In the Company of Men", and it's amazing that one man can pull off both roles. Eckhart has proven himself to be a marvelous chameleon-like actor, easily filling out the pathetic and needy sap LaBute has written for him here.

Jason Patric gets the toxic role this time, playing a misogynistic obstetrician (he's prone to playing football with a model of a fetus). His stories of extreme behaviour "amuse" his friends. One involves sending a retributive note to an ex-girlfriend on doctor's stationary, informing her that she may be HIV-positive. Another, in the scene that the film will be forever known for, involves high school hijinks in the gym shower with a bullied boy named Timmy. Patric wrings every bit of wickedness from this story, told in one incredibly long close-up take. It's a powerful little moment that leaves the audience (not to mention the other characters in the scene) exclaiming, "What the heck was that?"

Catherine Keener, so energetic in "Being John Malkovich", is much more subdued here. But you can feel her frustration bubbling up beneath the service (she's Stiller's girlfriend, and is as fed up with him as the audience is). Keener is a very self-aware actress, knowing when to go full throttle and when to pull back. Hers is not the showiest role in the film, but it ranks right up there with the most memorable.

Nastassja Kinski is used the least of the six main actors (author's note: Come to think of it, there are only six speaking parts in the whole movie, making the theatrical nature of the piece even more profound). And it's probably for the best. She is fetching, but doesn't bring much more to the role than quiet neediness.

Amy Brenneman plays Eckhart's wife, and has an affair with Stiller. She stays nervous and reticent throughout the movie, never giving in to her boredom or frustration even when the moment calls for a little blow-up. In the beginning she passes for the innocent moral centre of the film, but by the end she is the one most corrupted. Brenneman does well playing both sides of this coin.

Writer/Director LaBute appears to have learned much since "Men". He's more confident using close-ups to get in his characters' faces. And the film looks luscious bathed in warm autumnal hues. The story, such as it is, is told through a series of vignettes, each tellingly juxtaposed with the next to subtly portray the differences between men and women. A scene of three women talking about sex over lunch is followed by one of three men in a steam room pondering the same subject, in a cruder manner. And though there is no real narrative thrust, the individual scenes themselves are propulsive enough to keep the viewer interested.

Films with no protagonist generally are either loved or hated instantly.

Why? Because, most of us like to feel that we, at heart, are "good" people, and when we go to films we like to see reflections of ourselves that are self-enforcing and positive.

"Your Friends and Neighbors" revolve around 6 30-somethings that are not as obsessed with sex as they are involved in their own self-hatred (of which they are mostly unaware). Their hatred takes the form of self-involvment and detachment from their sexual partners that spins an ugly web of hostility and cruelty.

Labute's sophmore effort does not have the propulsive plot of "In The Company of Men", easily the best film of 1997. It is far more talky (TOO much so in some parts), but this again is a reflection of the avoidance the characters seek out....they talk and talk, but never say much, they approach or avoid intercourse with venal anger or disgust. It is in this respect that Labute has mirrored their sterility with character names like Jerry, Teri, Cherri, Cary, etc.---none of which are referenced in the film.

The highlight of this film and what keeps you watching are the stellar performances, especially from Amy Brenneman, as Aaron Eckhart's frigid, sexually confused wife; Catherine Keener (terrifically acidic as usual), as Egomaniac Ben Stiller's terminally disatisfied girlfriend, and Jason Patric as a truly amoral psychopath in a Doctor's guise. Only Nasstaja Kinski, as a lesbian looking for love (but not knowing what it is) comes across as vaguely sympathethic.

Though the film appears to many as pretentious, the mantra "Is It Me?" that rings throughout the film becomes the true indicator of these neurotic and psychotic anti-heros.

Not comfortable to watch, but thought provoking, nonetheless.

"Your Friends and Neighbors" (1998) is the second film by director/writer Neil LaBute and it tells the story of three couples and their complicated friendships and relationships. I've seen it more than once during the last couple of days - and I found it incredibly clever written, well acted (especially by Jason Patric and Catherine Keener - their only scene together was the second best in the movie - so dynamic and tight) and skillfully directed. LaBute certainly has a very unique sense of humor and he knows well the history of cinema. To give all characters the names that rhyme - Mary, Barry, Terri, Cheri, Cary and Jerry - was a clever idea - the characters are interchangeable in their relationships and it does not matter really, who is with whom - Mary with Barry or with Cary or Jerry or Barry with Barry, and Cheri with Terri or Jerry? The important thing is that they are selfish and often unpleasant and despicable people who are not happy with themselves and can't make happy their spouses or partners. Another interesting trick - the repeating scene in the Art gallery that starts with exactly the same words for each character but leads to different developments. I mentioned that LaBute knows his movies. Have you noticed the poster from Goddard's Le Mépris, (1963) aka "Contempt" with Brigitte Bardot? "Contempt" features one of the most fascinating and longest scenes of a breakup ever filmed. The breakup scene between Terri (Catherine Keener) and Jerry (Ben Stiller) started like in "Contempt" but it only lasted a few minutes and it was a good scene. Actually, I loved all scenes with Catherine Keener and if I have to choose one character that I liked, it would be Terry. Seems that Charlie Kaufman might have seen LaBute's movie because Terry and Maxine from "Being John Malkovich" have a lot in common. I was actually waiting for Terry to say to Jerry, "The thing is if you ever get me, you would not know what to do with me".

Jason Patric was a revelation - I don't know him very well but I remember that he gave a very good performance in "Narc". As for the scene in a steam room, it is not just the best of the film; it is one of the best scenes - monologues ever. I know not many would agree with me but the scene is as powerful, unforgettable and strangely erotic as the monologue in Bergman's "Persona". LaBute's writing, his camera, and mesmerizing performance by Patric made this scene an instant classic.

The film is not perfect and sometimes it drags but overall I found it interesting and enjoyable. You don't have to like the characters in order to like and appreciate the film. Sadly, the beautiful, sensual and talented Nastassja Kinski (Cherri) does not have much to play while Ben Stiller does and I am not his fan - even in this film.

LaBute's usage of "Metallica"s "Enter Sandman" (performed by Apocalyptica) during the opening and the closing credits instantly pulled me in and Bryony Atkinson's song "My Hollow" is terrific.

3.5/5 or 7/10

Your Friends & Neighbors is tale about six people and their immoral connection to one another, which is based on sex. The film itself offers some interesting dialogues as it dissects the characters and their lustful needs for each other. As these needs are examined it is evident that what has surfaced is not always what is sought after, and in the absence of what is desired it is understandable that happiness is not obtained. Your Friends & Neighbors is a small film with a small cast that analyzes the question of what people think they want and what people really want. In the end, it is a pretty good cinematic experience.

Neil LaBute's "Your Friends And Neighbors" is to our time what Choderlos Laclos'novel "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" was to 18th century France: an unsparing, jet-black look straight into the bottomless abyss that results when an era's worst social aspects intersect with its sexual appetites. In the France of 1782, the social trigger was the unearned, unrestricted privileged position of the aristocracy, which bred the kind of steel-hard arrogance that makes the manipulation of innocent people through heartless sex not only possible, but a source of diversion to the two main characters. In LaBute's masterpiece (which makes earlier "candid" American films about sex such as "Carnal Knowledge" and "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" look like kindergarten primers by comparison),we are faced with that most familiar of modern creatures, the Professional Man (and Woman) Without Qualities. That is to say, people who have plenty of money, decent material prospects, and absolutely no beliefs or convictions about any principle whatever, whether it is the sanctity of marriage vows or the loyalty due to friendship. The essence of this spiritually arid life is captured to perfection when the Eckhart and Patric characters meet in the diner, and Eckhart wonders offhandedly whether they will ever be made to own up to the consequences of the things they do. Perhaps in some hypothetical afterlife, says Patric -- but "the interim belongs to me".The scene in which he (Patric)terrorizes the Catherine Kenner character in the bookstore is one which any of the great playwrights who have dealt with sexual material (Williams, Wedekind,Strindberg, etc.)would have been pleased to write. Just as it is said of some con men that they regard any other person's having money in their pocket as a personal affront,Patric cannot endure the thought that there is any woman, anywhere, who would not want him, if given the chance. In addition, he displays the age-old view of (some) men that women are essentially intruders into the realm of male bonding and camaraderie, and should be slapped down.(His comment to her that he "cares about" the Stiller character, with whom she lives,and whom she is allegedly making unhappy, is patent nonsense; what he means is that he can use his "friendship" with Stiller as an alibi for cutting loose on her.)It is this same ravenous egoism that makes it possible for him to do what should, on the surface, be the last thing that a renowned straight stud would ever do: not only admit to his two closest male associates to having engaged in a homosexual rape,but to having derived PLEASURE from it. He takes it for granted that whatever reservations they may have about the homosexual aspect will be drowned in their unspoken agreement that power over a helpless victim is the ultimate aphrodisiac -- and he is quickly proven right.LaBute's characters do not(the gods be praised!)represent the whole truth about modern life; but,like the heartlessly mocking quartet on "Seinfeld", they do account for an uncomfortably large portion of it. This blackest of black comedies is more than just a splendid film; it is a barometer of its time.